


Always and Forever

by rivkamar2001



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cinderella - Freeform, Cinderella AU, F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 100,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26089207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rivkamar2001/pseuds/rivkamar2001
Summary: A Cinderella Adaptation. Marinette, an orphan living with her stepmother Lila and stepsisters Chloé and Sabrina, meets a mysterious stranger named Chat Noir. As they grow closer, Marinette must determine her own feelings toward this dashing new acquaintance. At the same time, Prince Adrien must decide what the future will hold for him - will he settle for an arranged marriage with a foreign princess, or will he pursue the young woman who's caught his eye and heart? When the king proclaims a city wide festival, both of their feelings will be tried as both old love and new are encountered.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 96
Kudos: 161





	1. Chapter 1

“MARINETTE!!!”

Marientte shuddered a little bit as she quickly set down the carrot she was peeling and walked into the wood-panelled dining room. The small round table seated three women, two only a few years removed from her, and the eldest dressing in a way to give that impression despite her age. The elder woman looked at Marinette through her bangs with that sickening smile she almost always wore as she lifted up her teacup daintily.

“Marinette, dear, this tea is almost cold! I know you didn’t mean to be so heartless, but don’t you remember that I need my tea to be hot? I mean, I can barely move my wrist as it is, but at least with hot tea the arthritis isn’t too terribly painful. Do you think you could take care of it?”

Marinette ignored the snickers of the other two women at the table, instead walking toward the woman who had spoken to her as she said

“Of course, Stepmother.” 

Lila gave the tiniest of smirks before dropping the china teacup with a cry of pain and clutching at her arm.

“AH! My wrist!”

Marinette lunged for the cup, but it dropped to the floor and broke neatly into three pieces. Lila looked down, still cradling her wrist, at Marinette’s face of shock and sadness.

“Oh, Marinette! I’m so terribly sorry, I broke your mother’s teacup… I do hope you can forgive me?”

Marinette didn’t say a word, just bending down to pick up the pieces from the pool of spilled, highly sweetened tea on the carpet. She held the three pieces gently in one hand as she picked up the teapot from the table - and resisted the urge to remove the other two matching teacups along with it. She kept up her air of submissiveness until she reached the hallway toward the kitchen - then she allowed her anger and grief to show on her face as she looked at the remains of her mother’s favorite teacup. When she reached the kitchen she set the teapot down on the counter and gently placed the pieces of china in the window box over the sink, hoping against hope that they would be safe there until she managed to finish her chores and could find the time to piece them together again. 

“Why do I let her get away with this?” she breathed, so softly that she could barely hear her own voice. 

It was too painful to remember why, so she searched through her mind for any outlet from her life with her stepfamily. And as she did so often, she allowed herself to fantasize about her past. Her mother, beautiful and calm, and her father, stoic and protective. 

But as always, she came back to one of her earliest and favorite memories - a sunny day, playing in the garden of a country house two hundred miles away, and meeting someone new.

A small thing, a ladybug, for the instigator of a meeting so formative to her life. The day Marinette chased one away from her home, she had never known what would come of it. 

She had always loved the little creatures, with their red spots and beautiful patterns, and she would sit and watch them for hours. Occasionally one would sit in a single spot for her to observe, but more often than not it would fly away and the little sprite of a girl would follow after. So it was on that beautiful spring day. Marinette was running through the fields and around the trees, keeping her eyes on the little red sight, trying desperately not to lose this one, when she suddenly heard a noise. 

It was a sniff, as if someone was trying to conceal tears. Marinette looked around and suddenly realized how far from her home she really was. She turned back, her eye catching on the ladybug, but then the sound came again. She listened harder until she could identify the direction through the woods, and she began to make her way over curiously.

She was still listening for any sound when she saw that the forest opened up on a line of hedges. From the other side, she heard the sound of someone breathing shakily, the way her father did sometimes when he didn’t want anyone to know he was crying. Marinette felt her own tears coming in sympathy and she looked for a way to the other side. 

She walked a few steps forward and knew instinctively that this was where the unknown sufferer was. She decided to make her presence known.

“Excuse me?”

The soft sniffing suddenly stopped and a sudden movement made the hedge rustle. Then all was quiet. Marinette tried again.

“Hello?”

A soft voice said, so quietly she could barely hear it, 

“... hello.”

It was a voice like a child - perhaps it was someone her age.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, then waited excitedly for the answer. She loved to care for people when they needed it, and it really did sound like this mysterious stranger needed it.

“No. Go away.”

Not the encouraging answer she was looking for. She tried again.

“Can I come in?”

She expected to be told off again, but to her surprise the hedge rustled again after a very slight pause, and she heard the voice from the other side.

“There’s a hole. Down by the big tree.”

Marinette looked around and saw what could only be the big tree - a massive pine tree - a few yards away. She quickly ran toward it and began to root around. A very slight investigation revealed the hole, a space once occupied by a nest of some kind, and Marinette dropped to her knees and climbed through. 

Inside, she found herself in what seemed to be another world. The sun shone down on the hedges, what seemed to be miles of them. While the forest was filled with birdsong and the sounds of animals, here there seemed to be only silence. Marinette was a little afraid of the silence, but she was distracted by her mission. She walked back the direction she knew the voice must have come from and came out on a small circle, where several hedge paths met. 

He was sitting at the base of a bush growing in the center of a small circle. He was looking away, as if he didn’t want to see her - or didn’t want her to see him.

Marinette smiled and walked forward.

“Excuse me?”

He jumped and scrambled to his feet, wiping his eyes with grubby hands. Marientte, being a kindly girl, immediately fished in her pocket for a handkerchief and held it out to the little boy in front of her. He refused to take it, instead looking at her bare feet. Marinette wondered what was so strange about her bare feet until she noticed his own highly polished shoes. She also took in his blond hair, clearly styled once upon a time but now moved into a mess of golden locks, and his green eyes staring at her, tears still in them.

“Who are you?” Marinette asked in wonder. The boy shook his head.

“I don’t want to tell you. You won’t really like me. Nobody does anymore. You’ll only like me because you have to.”

Even at five years old, Marinette's sense of justice was alive and well, and she knew this could never be true. She placed her hands on her hips in imitation of her nurse as she said hotly

“What?! I like people for who they are, not who they say they should be. I mean, Kim says that I shouldn’t like Tikki because she’s my nanny and nannies are mean, but I love Tikki almost as much as I love my Mama and Papa.”

The boy looked up in surprise at her outbreak, green eyes wide with wonder, then began to giggle under his breath. 

“I didn’t know that.”

Marinette smiled kindly at him.

“It doesn’t matter who you are. Do you want to play something and stop crying?”

He looked almost shy at this suggestion, but nodded.

“If you give me a name, can we be friends? That way you’ll like me for real.”

Marinette grinned at him and nodded, slightly confused by the new game, but quite willing to participate in it.

“Okay! How about I call you Lily?”

“That’s a girl’s name.”

“Oh. Right. Umm… how about Blaze?”

He looked at her in a bit of reproach.

“A nickname isn’t supposed to be a real name. It’s a fake name that wouldn’t be a real name at all.” 

She frowned and looked at him, hoping for inspiration to strike. He seemed to be deep in thought, too, and suddenly he looked at her and said quickly

“I like flowers, and rain, and I love cats!”

Marinette gave a little grin. 

“Chaton! I’ll call you Chaton!” 

Her new friend looked almost excited about the new name, and he walked toward her, holding out his hand. She ignored this and threw her arms around him. He stiffened a little, but then hugged her back.

“I like it! But what about you?”

Marinette giggled as she unwrapped her arms from around him.

“I can just tell you my name, silly!”

“But I can give you a nickname so you won’t feel left out!”

Marinette was about to say something when a flash of red caught her eye on a leaf a few feet away. She gestured for Chaton to stay perfectly still, took a step forward, and quickly reached out grabbing it in both hands.

“Gotcha! I caught it, Chaton!”

She opened up her hands just enough to let him see the tiny red and black insect inside, then quickly closed them up again. He looked like he was about to cry again, and Marinette quickly said

“What’s the matter?”

He muttered something and sat down on the ground again, tears filling his eyes. Marinette sat down next to him, setting the ladybug on her frilled pink skirt.

“I couldn’t hear you. What did you say?”

He suddenly buried his face in his hands, crying

“My Mama’s really sick, and I can’t go see her and show her the pretty ladybug anymore, and I don’t think she’s going to get better and she’s going to die!”

Marinette felt a pain at the pit of her stomach at his grief. She quickly released the little insect on her hand and wrapped her arms around Chaton as she rocked too and fro, trying to help her friend but feeling tears running down her face as well. Soon, the two were crying together, the ladybug forgotten to wander back to the leaves of the bush. Chaton was the first to compose himself, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands this time. Marinette once again offered him the handkerchief, and this time he took it. He looked in wonder at the design on the white fabric: a small ladybug and a cluster of brightly colored flowers. Then he looked back up at Marinette and said thickly.

“This is pretty. It is your mama’s?”

Marinette shook her head, blinking tears from her eyes.

“No, it’s mine. I made it and she sewed the pictures, but I picked out the colors for the flowers.”

He turned it over in his hands.

“You’re really pretty.”

He looked up quickly and amended his statement.

“I mean, you make pretty things. But you’re pretty, too. A little like Mama.”

Marinette plucked a blade of grass from the ground. 

“What’s your mama like? Is she nice?”

Chaton gulped and nodded, smiling a little bit.

“She is. We used to read books together, and she would play hide-and-seek with me. We have the best house for playing hide and seek! She’d go walking with me in the garden and we’d decide which flowers we like the best, and sometimes dad would come with us. Not often, though. He’s really busy… That’s why I’m out here.”

Marinette’s heart was wrung. She was about to say something when a voice was heard calling.

“--Where are you?! AD--!”

Chaton gasped and quickly raised his voice

“I’m here, Nathalie!”

He quickly pushed Marinette behind the bush as a woman walked around the corner of the path. She was tall and straight, with black hair pulled back severely and a black gown that was completely plain except for a single layer of red ribbon around the neckline. Marinette wondered briefly if this was his mother until she remembered that he had called her Nathalie, not Mama. Not to mention, the woman’s demeanor was uptight and sharp - nothing like the nice Mama Chaton had described. She watched through the leaves as the woman walked over to her friend and said in a clipped voice

“Here you are. Hurry up, please. Your father wants to see you. Right now.”

Chaton nodded and started to walk after her, then turned and ran back to the bush. Marinette wondered why, until he pressed down a leaf to show the small red insect on it. Then he looked through the bush until his eyes met hers.

“Bye, Ladybug! Will I see you tomorrow?” he said with a smile. Marinette nodded silently, and he smiled at her again before walking toward the waiting woman. 

Marinette waited until the sounds of their footsteps were gone, then she started back toward the hole Before long, she was running back toward her home. As she approached it, she heard her name being called, and she just crested the hill when she found Tikki walking aimlessly and shouting out

“Marinette! Where are you?!”

“I’m here, Tikki!” she called, running a little bit faster. The ginger-haired woman turned to her and scooped her up in her arms, carrying her toward the kitchen of their home.

“Where were you? I’ve been calling for you for five minutes! I thought I said you could play in the garden?”

Marinette decided to play it safe, not knowing whether she would get in trouble with her parents if they found out, and so all she said was

“I’m sorry, Tikki. What’s for lunch?”

Tikki smiled at her - that smile that warmed her heart.

“I think we can arrange for something special today, don’t you?”

Marinette grinned back at her and squirmed out of her hold - when Tikki said things like this, it usually meant that she was allowed to help in the kitchen There might even be cookies! But before she could say anything more, her mother walked out of the door and held out her arms. Marinette was suddenly reminded of Chaton’s mother, who was dying and couldn’t see him anymore, and her eyes filled with tears once more as she ran frantically to her mother and gave her the biggest hug she could, afraid that if she let go once more, her mother too might disappear. 

“Mama, are you going to die?” she said in a voice choked with tears. Her mother froze for a moment, then knelt down, picked up the little girl and held her close.

“Well, I hope not for a very long time, but someday we all will. But don’t worry. No matter what, someone will always be here to take care of you, mon coeur.”

Marinette looked up and kissed her mother’s cheek before cuddling farther into her embrace. Tikki smiled at them from a distance and held out her arms, but Marinette just held on all the tighter and felt her mother’s shaking head as she walked inside, still carrying her little daughter in her arms.

“Marinette, did something happen today while you were playing? Why are you so scared all of a sudden?”

Marinette nodded, rubbing the tears from her eyes with a sniff, then shook her head quickly. 

“No, Mamon. Nothing happened.”

And the thought of Chaton and their appointment to play the next day made her smile and breathe a little easier.

Apparently sensing that Marinette’s mood had brightened once more, her mother gestured to the door and Tikki appeared.

“If you want those cookies, you’d better come along. If you’re not careful, I might just eat them all up myself! They look so good…” she said with a smile, holding out her hand to the little girl. Marinette jumped up and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the kitchen.

That night, Marinette went to bed with a hoarded pair of cookies under her pillow, a smile on her face, and a hope for the next day’s adventure with her new friend.


	2. Chapter 2

For a year, Marinette’s little world was brightened by her neighbor. Now that her parents knew of the friendship, they encouraged her to pursue it, so whenever possible she would journey over to “their bush” and meet Chaton. They would roam the gardens together, collecting flowers and playing games. Although Marinette several times offered to tell him her real name, he refused, simply saying that it wouldn’t be fair for him to get a nickname if she didn’t have one. He simply called her “Ladybug” after her favorite insect. It was as if their lives came to a stop together. Chaton wasn’t always able to play, but he always made sure to leave a message for her when his life outside the garden kept him away - a little red ribbon tied to the branches of their bush. And so the two of them grew closer together, never knowing that a dedicated nurse and protective tutor were always watching over them from the shadows.

But now it was all in the past. Marinette’s memories were just that. A wonderful memory of a beautiful time she had lost. It had been over a decade since she had even laid eyes on her Chaton - he had moved away without warning one day and she had only seen him once since then. And now both her parents were dead. Her mother died about five years after Marinette had first met her friend, leaving a young daughter and a broken-hearted widower behind her. 

As her mother’s illness had increased, her father had decided that it would be better to move them closer to the city in order to be nearer to the doctors who might have a solution. This proved to be mere fantasy, as every doctor he consulted had the same reaction. They would see her mother, listen to the list of symptoms, and then nod with that same smile that said as clearly as possible that there was nothing they could do. Two years after they moved, her mother finally passed on, leaving a ten year old daughter and a broken-hearted widower. While they never fully recovered from their grief, the father and daughter lived comfortably together, happy enough in their own lives alone. 

What possessed her father to marry Lila six years later, Marinette never understood. Perhaps he had hoped that a maternal figure would help his daughter to grow out of her shell and increase her confidence. Perhaps he’d hoped that she and her stepsisters would grow to be friends.

Or perhaps, Marinette thought sourly and not for the first time, Lila had managed to entrap him in some way. She wouldn’t put it past the woman to have blackmailed her father with some secret even his own daughter didn’t know about.

The sky was long since dark and the chores were finally done. Every dish was scrubbed, every scrap of food washed away, and every inch of the house dusted to shining perfection. Lila and her daughters had gone to bed hours ago to get their beauty rest - not that it would do Lila much good, Marinette thought unkindly - and so Marinette was left with time to herself for the first time in hours. Finally, now that she wasn’t at their beck and call, asked to wash this outfit, to re-curl that lock of hair or to bring a fresh pot of tea - which she had long since grown to loathe - she had the chance to sit down at the kitchen table in the light of a single candle and attempt to piece together the broken blue-patterned teacup. At first she had no success, and only after a close call breaking one of the remaining pieces did she think of another option. 

She smiled a little as the thought occurred to her. It had been quite a while since she’d seen Tikki, after all.

After her parents had died and Lila had squandered everything on herself, and to a lesser degree her daughters, the staff had all been let go and Lila had stated that she and “her girls” would be able to run the house effectively themselves. This sounded quite generous and understanding, but it really meant that Marinette had been sweetly and gradually requested to do this and that extra chore until all her stepfamily had to do was shout and she would come running. Not that she was a servant, Lila was careful to say to anyone who commented on it. But strangely, very few did. Lila had that effect on people. If she wanted them to believe something, they would believe it. And there was nothing Marinette could do about it. 

She grabbed her grey cloak from the hook by the door and wrapped it around her shoulder before slipping out silently, knowing that Lila would have her head if she knew her stepdaughter had been out without her permission. But the house was entirely quiet, and not even the crickets moved at her approach. She slipped down the garden path and, not for the first time, blessed the previous owner of the house, who had apparently loved the forest as much as she did. The moon was only just beginning it’s journey to the full, and the tiny crescent didn’t give much light under the trees, but she walked confidently along the beaten path toward her destination, sure of each turn and exposed root. When she finally came to a clearing and saw the house with a light still burning in the window, she gave a little smile as she crept up to the door and knocked on it softly. It was opened almost immediately, and Marinette’s smile grew wider at the welcome sight of her old nurse.

“Tikki! How are you?”

Tikki looked almost no different from the slender, motherly woman Marinette had known since she was born, and Marinette sometimes wondered if she was secretly magic or had some kind of Merlin-like powers to stay young forever. Her ginger hair was, as always, pulled back into a bun, but a few wisps had escaped and were sticking out at odd angles against her head. The red dress she wore fluttered in the breeze from the door under her black corset, and she smiled kindly at the young woman in front of her. 

“It’s good to see you again, Marinette.”

She stepped forward and reached for her former charge, but Marinette quickly stepped through the door, avoiding the hug she didn’t really feel like returning at the moment.

Marinette entered the little one-room house and closed her eyes as the door shut behind her, breathing deeply for the first time in what felt like months, not even taking in the smells that assailed her senses: Fresh baking, a savory spice she couldn’t quite identify and a wood fire burning merrily. The fire gave a red tint to everything in the cottage, or perhaps that was simply the ambiance of the cottage. For as long as Marinette could remember, her nurse had surrounded herself with cheerful colors and had always been partial to reds and pinks. This was clearly evident in her decor - simple, yet elegant and somehow thematically and intrinsically Tikki, with her red cloth over the table, dark red chair, and red-spotted quilt on the bed in the corner.

Marinette stood for a moment, just enjoying the ability to breathe freely for once. Tikki’s was like that - a breath of fresh air in her life of drudgery. 

Unfortunately, there was little time for that. Marinette walked to the table in the center of the single-room cottage and got right to the point, knowing that if Lila should take it into her head to ring for her for whatever insane reason and she were not at home, nothing could save her.

“I need your help with something, if you can.” she said, unwrapping the cloth she carried to show the three pieces of china left from the broken teacup. Tikki’s eyes darkened as she recognized the pattern of blue flowers and violet birds, and she said in a voice carefully controlled

“That vixen.”

Marinette snorted at the apt description of her stepmother, but shook her head.

“It’s not worth making a fuss over. Really, Tikki. I just brought it over to see if there was any way to fix it. If there is, I’ll take it right back as soon as it’s done and hide it up in the attic with all the rest of the things.”

Tikki looked at the pieces and nodded, her eyes bright and speculative.

“I can find something to make due with, but it won’t ever be watertight again. You’ll have to live with that if you want it.”

Marinette nodded - anything to keep her parent’s belongings. Tikki wrapped the pieces up and set them on a low table by the strangely out-of-place armchair, then turned and pulled a jar out of a hidden spot, offering it to Marinette. 

“Eat up. You look thinner again.”

Marinette smiled wanly as she took a cookie from inside the jar, then catching Tikki’s eyes, a second. She hoped Tikki didn’t see her slip them both into her apron pocket.

“Lila’s on an economy spree right now - which means that she has to still get all the best of everything, and she expects the bills to magically lower themselves. So I’m buying enough food for three instead of four. I can manage. I don’t have time to eat much anyway.”

Tikki lowered herself into a hard chair and gestured to Marinette that she should take the one across from it, the soft red armchair.

“Why do you stay there, Marinette? You know you could always come and stay with me here, and you wouldn’t be near that b--”

Marinette cut off the comment, knowing that Tikki’s usually cheerful temperament was quickly soured by Lila or any mention of her.

“I’m doing it for Mama and Papa. They deserve that much, anyway. I don’t want her to squander anything away that might be theirs. I’ve got to be there to keep her from doing anything. I don’t have a choice.”

“Sure you do. Push her out a window. Or poison her tea.” Tikki said immediately, with a lightness to her voice that made Marinette laugh.

“A little bit drastic, don’t you think? Besides, if that happened, there’s no chance anything would go to me. Chloé would make sure of that, and Sabrina follows her lead on everything she does - though she’s always been less obnoxious than the other two. You know, the other day she actually saved me a roll? She said she had a headache and needed to go to bed, and when I came to clear away her plate she’d pushed it under the napkin.”

Tikki smiled, but it didn’t meet her eyes.

“I know how much it means to you to keep your parent’s things, Marinette, but do you think they would be happy knowing you’re being treated like that?”

Marinette stiffened, knowing the argument was coming and hating that she had to lie to her old friend.

“Of course not, but where else would I go? I know you’d take me, Tikki, but if I weren’t sneaking money to you, where would we get any kind of support? I don’t have a dowry, and it’s not like any man is going to want to marry a servant girl - certainly not anyone around here. Alya believes every word out of Lila’s mouth, so I can’t ask her - who else am I supposed to go to?”

Tikki sighed in her turn, then looked out the window. Marinette stood up.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. You know I wish I could stay longer, but if I don’t get back we’ll both be in trouble. I’ll visit Mama and Papa for a moment before I go back. Thanks for everything.”

The older woman stood up and held out the jar of cookies once more, insisting with her eyes that Marinette take one. Then she set it down and reached for the younger woman with a fond smile.

“I love you very much, Marinette. You know that.”

Marinette nodded, her throat constricting as she moved toward the door, avoiding the arms the older woman held out to her. 

“I know. I’ll see you soon.”

And with that, she let herself out of the little house into the darkness again.

She walked a few yards down the path to an even more well-worn one, leading to a little glade. The moonlight was still dim, but soon she saw what she was looking for: A pair of stones, side by side, a bush growing between them. This had been her parent’s favorite spot to sit and enjoy themselves once they moved to this house, and now it was their final resting place. Marinette walked over and brushed her hand over the tops of the headstones, then turned and walked away. She knew from experience that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn’t leave. 

She was only going to get a few hours of sleep as it was.


	3. Chapter 3

He woke before his usual time and sat in bed, staring at the blank grey stone wall and irritated by the lack of sleep, until the door gingerly opened. A young man peeked in cautiously, and when he saw the bed’s occupant was awake, stepped in with a tray in his hands and said in the usual cheerful tones of everyone in this blasted castle

“Good morning, your Highness.”

“What’s so great about it?” Prince Adrien grumbled, finally getting out of bed as the servant set the tea tray on the desk across the room.

“Well, sir, it’s a lovely day outside, the cook seems to have made rather impressive pastries this morning, and Queen Tomoe will be arriving this afternoon.” the servant said, apparently not understanding the rhetorical nature of the question as he set the hot water by the wash basin.

Adrien froze in the act of raising his hot chocolate to his lips.

“...Oh. I forgot. And her daughter’s with her, isn’t she?”

The servant nodded as he looked up, then he saw his prince’s face and changed his tone from cheerful to commiseratory. 

“Yes sir, Princess Kagami will be arriving as well.”

Adrien nodded, not saying another word until the servant had left the room - and he certainly took his sweet time about it. Quickly dressing in his usual plain white doublet with black trim, he left his room as quickly as he could, making his way down the bustling halls to the study he used on a daily basis. Not that it was his, mind you, it simply contained all of his books and study materials, as well as being the place where he spent most of his time. 

But it wasn’t really his.

Nathalie was standing in her customary spot by the fireplace, list in hand.

“Morning, Nathalie. What have I got today?” Adrien said as he walked in. She read out the list to him without preamble, and he noticed with interest - and foreboding - that he didn’t have anything scheduled for the evening. He pointed this out, then regretted it as Nathalie said

“Your father has left the entire evening free after the welcoming banquet for you to entertain the Princess Kagami. He and Queen Tomoe are hopeful that through the two of you, a trade alliance can be reached quickly and amicably.”

Adrien furrowed his brow, confused.

“But the two of us don’t have any real power? What can we do… to…”

Then the other shoe suddenly dropped and his eyes widened. Panicking, he said quickly

“NO! No way! I won’t be pushed into anything like that! If my father thinks he can--”

Nathalie cut him off.

“He’ll discuss it with you in person at lunch. Until then, you have tutoring. The royal entourage will be here this afternoon, and you’ll be receiving them with your father. I’ll send you the necessary information before then.”

She stalked out, and Adrien was left alone in the room, fuming and bewildered.

He was still standing in the middle of the room scowling at the painting on the wall - some old ancestor of his with a fancy, ridiculous hat - when he heard a voice behind him.

“Boy, you took that badly. Not that I’m surprised or anything, but you’d think you’d at least have expected this to happen eventually.”

Adrien whirled around and glared at the black-haired man closing the door behind him, irrationally annoyed by the mild look on his face and the fact that he was there right on schedule.

“Don’t tell me you knew about this, too, Plagg!?”

His tutor just moved toward the fire, pulling his bag off of his shoulders and setting it on the usual table.

“What do you think you’ve been prepping for all your life, kid? This is your job. You’re supposed to get married to someone with good connections for the kingdom and start having a nursery full of royal kids to be raised to do the exact same thing. I warned you about this years ago, but would you listen?”

“I did! And then you told me then that it wasn’t fair!” Adrien defended himself.

“That I did,” agreed his tutor, sitting down and pulling books out of his satchel. “And I still think that. So tell me what you’re going to do about it?”

Adrien huffed and started pacing

“What am I going to do?! What am I supposed to do!? I’m not even allowed out of this stupid palace without an escort unless… you know.”

“Ah, yes. Your nightly ramblings.” Plagg said, lounging back in his chair and watching the blond pacing the room in front of him. “All things considered, you’ve done really well out there on your own - except for that one time you got chased by the law. Why on earth did you think it was a good idea to go down that area of town, anyway? You know that’s where all the seedy joints are.”

“There was a lady in peril, Plagg. I had to do something! It’s not my fault she screamed and they came running.”

All the response Plagg gave was a grunt. Adrien glared at him as he sat at the table, watching his tutor’s head as Plagg just opened up a book and began to read.

“Will you please just look up and talk to me, Plagg? You’ve got to get me out of this!”

Adrien’s tutor looked up at him with a sigh.

“You’re an adult now, Adrien. I’ll help if I can, but it’s not my place to fix this one for you. For your own sake, you’ve got to do this one yourself.”

Adrien cursed under his breath with words no Crown Prince should know, let alone say, balling his hands into fists. Plagg grinned as he pulled a sheaf of papers out of his bag, knowing exactly what he was saying and where he’d acquired his admittedly extensive vocabulary.

“If you really want to get out of this then all you’ve got to do is tell the princess - and your father - you made a mistake, gave the wrong impression, and want to find a different arrangement between the two countries. But you’re going to have to man up and do it yourself. Until then, let’s work on this trade statement and see what you can come up with.”

Adrien gave his tutor a death glare as he sat down, yanking the parchment toward him.

At punctually three hours past noon that afternoon, Adrien was sitting in his chair next to his father, waiting for the news that the Queen and her followers had arrived. The air between them was so tense it could have cut glass. 

The discussion over luncheon hadn’t gone as well as Adrien had hoped - and his hopes hadn’t been high to begin with. 

“You are acting like a child!” his father had said coldly across the long, empty table after hearing Adrien’s opinions on the approaching arrangement. “I refuse to hear any more of this.”

Of course, like the idiot he was, Adrien hadn’t let it go, and finally his father had lost his temper. This in itself wasn’t hard to accomplish, but this had been a different kind of anger. Usually his father’s anger expressed itself in cold instructions, clipped tones, and icy stares. This was different. This was pure and unbridled fury, all directed at his son and his ‘undutiful behavior’. Servants had fled from the dining room, and it had taken all of Adrien’s courage not to follow them as quickly as he could. However, he’d stood his ground and waited for the storm to come to a sudden halt. His father suddenly seemed to recall himself, looked around as he realized how undignified the location was, and quickly left the room. Adrien waited only seconds before bolting out of the private dining room by the back door to the kitchens, almost running into a serving maid waiting to clear away the dishes and obviously terrified by the sounds that had been coming from the room. 

Adrien had apologized for running into the girl, then kept running until he found himself at the training grounds. His anger got the better of him only then, and his tutor found him there, training as if his life depended on it. As if by training a little more, going a little further, and running a little faster, he could outrun the unattainable standards his father insisted upon, and the life he was forced to live without any hope of change. 

That was one of the things Adrien and Princess Kagami had found in common - one of the only things, actually. They hadn’t become friends right away, and Adrien wondered if they ever would. He doubted it, and in fact in his current state of mind he wondered if Kagami was capable of making friends at all. She was cold and distant, no doubt due to her mother’s overbearing influence, and all she seemed to be interested in was showing the world exactly how perfect she could be. Even more unattainably perfect than he was supposed to be, because she’d managed to do it all apparently without developing any kind of feelings along the way. 

Since the two of them had grown up attending the same functions with their respective parents, they had found themselves thrust more and more into each other’s company, particularly once they got old enough to potentially become romantically interested in each other. Adrien had thought this a great stroke of luck until he realized that all of his jokes and smooth lines - for a kid of fifteen - went right over her head.

Why, why had he ever thought the relationship might have worked? What was he thinking?

Plagg found him as he was swinging his quarterstaff against the dummy made for that purpose. It was supposed to be vaguely in the shape of a man’s body, but was severely bent out of shape by the pounding it had been getting in the past few minutes. 

“You holding up okay, kid?”

Adrien turned on him, striking out with the staff in his hands, but Plagg moved almost inhumanly fast, catching it in his hands and holding it there.

“No good. I taught you that move, you can’t use it on me. Now answer the question.”

“What do you think?!” Adrien almost shouted at him, pulling ineffectually at the staff in an effort to remove it from Plagg’s hold. “I’m being forced into a marriage without so much as a simple question. Oh, I don’t know, maybe just mention to me that you’re planning out my whole life without me? So yeah, I’m furious! I’m sick and tired of being the poster child for my father and letting my own life go by so that he can feel superior. I don’t care much about true love or any of that garbage, but is it too much to ask that I get a say in whether I spend the rest of my life with someone who cares about me or just what I can give them?”

Plagg sighed and let go of the quarterstaff. Adrien was still pulling on it at the time, so he fell back a pace before he backed into the misshapen dummy. Plagg helped him to right himself, then pulled his charge into an embrace. A manly embrace, but an embrace nonetheless. After only a moment of hesitation, the prince dropped the weapon and wrapped his arms around his tutor. Plagg chose to ignore the small sobs as he held on all the tighter to the broken boy he’d been asked, in many ways, to raise. 

Although Plagg may have had many spats with his pupil over the years, he truly did care about him. He’d been hired to train the boy in anything and everything he needed as soon as the prince was old enough to start learning - which ended up being about three years old. He’d begun teaching him the easiest of lessons while the boy still wore shortcoats and lived at that fancy manor house in the country, separated from his father by his attitude and, eventually, his mother by her illness. He had watched the prince grow up, rescued him and his friend Nino from their various punishments, and had eventually given Adrien his own outlet for freedom. 

And, he thought grimmly to himself, he’d been a better father figure than the icy monarch who only talked to him when strictly necessary. No matter how much his son reminded the king of his dead wife, taking it out on the boy was beyond unnecessary. Which was why Plagg had decided that Adrien had to get out of the castle from time to time, to see that the rest of the world wasn’t like that. That real people didn’t make decisions based on politics and instead based them off of what was best for themselves, others, and what they truly wanted in their lives. And the boy had taken it to heart - apparently. He’d never had an outburst like this before, but there had never been a shock like this before, either. When his mother died after battling sickness for months, it was tragic but not unexpected. Plagg wondered sourly whether his Majesty would feel the same grief he displayed for his deceased wife if his son decided to do something drastic thanks to this new order. 

“Adrien?”

The boy’s voice was muffled in Plagg’s shirt.

“... yeah?”

“You know… your father really is trying to do his best for the kingdom. I know you don’t agree with him, but he’s doing his job so you can do yours better.”

Adrien raised his head and pulled away from his tutor, trying to hide the eyes he was wiping gently.

“I know. I just… He didn’t even ask me? I don’t understand why he’s being so stubborn about this. It’s almost as if he chose a wife for me simply because she’s the opposite of Mother. In fact, I wouldn’t put it past him.”

Plagg grunted noncommittally, turning away from Adrien and deciding not to share his own views on the matter. Queen Emilie had been beloved by all the kingdom, but especially by the king himself, and since her death his single purpose seemed to have been to remove from his sight anything that might remind him of her - up to and including his own son. Adrien might not remember, but Plagg recalled the days when the king used to be kind and benevolent, until the plague had carried his queen off. 

“Plagg?”

Another grunt.

“Do you think… I could get out of here tonight?”

Plagg looked up at the sun with an impish grin.

“If I remember correctly, the princess goes to bed promptly at the same time every night?”

Adrien grimmaced and rubbed his eyes in exasperation.

“Yep. So that she can get the perfect amount of sleep. How did I ever think I might be attracted to her?”

Plagg just grimaced at him.

“You were fifteen and she was the only girl you’d ever been around. Draw your own conclusions, lover boy.”

Adrien let out a tiny laugh. 

“Well, not quite the only girl… but I get your point. And I know, it’s stupid to keep thinking about it.”

Plagg clapped him on the shoulder, shaking it slightly in reassurance. 

“Don’t worry. You can make it out tonight.”

And so now Adrien was waiting through an interminable dinner with far too many courses, of course seated next to Princess Kagami and almost screaming with frustration. The only reason he was able to hold it in was because he knew he’d be able to escape soon enough.

Princess Kagami was nothing if not - well, perfect. Too perfect. Her red and white dress was the exact right degree of formality for the occasion without being too formal, her black hair was in ordered locks and never seemed to move, her voice was just the right volume without being too loud or too quiet. The only thing that didn’t seem to be conditioned to be “perfect” was her flat, emotionless tone. Adrien tried valiantly to keep up a conversation, but was just unable to find a topic that seemed to capture her interest in the slightest. Each response was made in the same voice, clipped and matter-of-fact. Adrien thanked each lucky star he knew that the dinner was only three courses, though it felt like twenty.

When the meal finally ended, he stood up and realized that of course, everyone would expect the two of them to go somewhere alone. Panicking a little, he looked around for any friendly face, and managed to catch the eye of one of his oldest friends, a dark-skinned boy in an orange doublet. Nino took in the situation at a glance and nodded, eyes flickering toward a few other figures on the other side of the room. Adrien breathed a silent sigh of relief that his plight had been noticed, and led Princess Kagami toward the study, confident that his friend would be able to rescue him before the conversation turned uncomfortable. 

And indeed, it was only moments later that a small group of people entered the room, clearly there to enjoy themselves and their company. Nino immediately stepped toward Adrien and grabbed his hand.

“Hey, Highness! Where’ve you been hiding yourself?”

Adrien felt a real smile on his lips as he recognized their signal for “What do you need?” and quickly answered, knowing Nino would follow the code in his turn: “Don’t leave me alone.”

“Nino, I feel like I haven't talked to you in months!”

Then he “remembered” his companion and turned to introduce her to the newcomers, thus introducing a group conversation.

“Princess, this is Nino Lahiffe, an old friend of mine.” Then he gestured to the girls, one in a pink dress, the other in a dark green - “Over there are Lady Rose and Lady Alixandra, and the gentleman behind them is Max.” He ended by gesturing to the young man in the green coat and glasses. “Nino, Rosie, Alix, Max, this is Princess Kagami. I’m not sure you’ve all met her before.”

Kagami stood and made a perfectly accurate curtsy before saying “A pleasure” in a tone belying the statement. Not that she sounded unkind or anything, she just sounded… disinterested. Like in everything, it seemed. 

Despite everything, the old friends were able to have some good laughs during the evening. It really had been quite a while since their small group had been together, but Adrien felt more and more uneasy as he surreptitiously watched the clock ticking. Finally, after a less grueling evening than he had expected, the princess stood and looked around at her seated companions.

“Thank you all for the lovely evening, but I think I’ll retire now. It’s getting late.”

Alix glanced at the clock, which pointed to just before nine thirty and coughed to hide a laugh as the princess swept out of the room regally. Adrien breathed a sigh of relief and Nino turned to look at him.

“You okay, Adrien? You look exhausted.”

Adrien was about to deny this when he realized he could use it to his advantage and quickly assented to it.

“Yeah… She’s not an easy person to entertain. Before you came, I was a little afraid I’d have to start asking her about the weather on the trip, that’s how desperate I was.”

Nino and the others looked sympathetic and Rose quickly smiled at him.

“I think you did a great job, Adrien! You just need a little bit of time with her, you’ll get to know her better and soon you’ll be chatting with her the way you do with the rest of us!”

Adrien had to smile at her, knowing that his bubbly blonde companion was trying to cheer him up in the best way she could. Nino clapped him on the shoulder.

“Go sneak around the other way and get some rest. You look like you need it right now.”

Adrien nodded and rose, flashing a grateful smile at his friends before leaving the room quickly and making his way back to his quarters via the back halls in order not to run into any of the guests. He was greeted by another manservant who offered to help him undress, but he gently dismissed the man, assuring him that he would ring if he had any need. After hearing his footsteps fade away, he grinned as he quickly turned and ran to the wardrobe, reaching to the back for a special outfit. 

A black tunic came first, followed by black hose. A short cloak around his shoulders with the hood ready to be pulled over his blond hair if the occasion arose, black boots on his feet - the kind made for running, not posing for portraits. Black gloves on his hands, and finally a mask over his face. As he tied the mask around his head, he slid his hands through his blond locks, rumpling his usually impeccable style and making it almost unrecognizable, before pulling the black hood over it and laughing at the little additions he’d long since adopted. Perhaps the ears were a little much, but who would see him? He was just surveying the effect in the mirror once again, never ceasing to be amazed by the transformation, when he heard a knock from the door and recognized the pattern. With a smirk he’d never show to anyone in his normal guise, he opened the door just a crack and his tutor slipped in. 

“All clear.”

Plagg pulled a black bag out from inside of his and handed it to Adrien, who opened it and made sure everything was in order. 

Rope, check. Money, check. Candle and tinder, check. He’d pick up his quarterstaff from the training grounds on the way out. 

He removed the coil of rope and tied it to his bedpost. Plagg checked the knot and then let the rope slip out the second-story window. Adrien gave his tutor a wink and a grin of pure joy as he grabbed the rope and began to lower himself down, only hearing as he slipped into the darkness

“Be safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely reader! 
> 
> I know this is the first time I have interrupted the story as the author, and I just want to thank all of you for reading and encouraging me with your kudos and follows. This is my first story, and I want to hear from you to see what I'm doing right, as well as where I can get stronger!  
> Also, I have the entire story written, and I'm simply posting chapter by chapter, so I'd love to hear some of your predictions as we get further into the plot. Don't worry, there will be more plot next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette had been going around the house lighting the lamps, stoking the fires, and generally tidying for an hour when she heard a knock at the door. Her stepfamily were drinking their evening tea in the parlor and weren’t likely to answer the door in any case, so she set down her rag and walked over. 

“Marc! It’s nice to see you. Is something wrong?”

The dark-haired young man shook his head and held out an envelope. 

“Actually, this was left at the inn. I think it was supposed to be delivered by hand, but I guess something went wrong and it ended up with us by mistake - we only found it just now. I thought it might be important.”

Marinette took the letter and looked at it in surprise.

“Why wasn’t it delivered with the rest of the mail?”

Marc shrugged. 

“Who knows. I just know it’s addressed to the old lady and I’m not risking ending up in her black books. Between you and me… Madame Rossi kind of scares me.”

Marinette was slightly surprised to hear this. She’d assumed that no one else in the little suburb would be able to see through Lila’s lies, and she felt a sudden sense of camaraderie with this young man who was practically a stranger. She smiled at him, but before she could say anything else, she heard a shout from the parlor. She shook her head and had only time to say a quick “Thank you” before she shut the door and hurried into the parlor.

“What on earth was that?” Lila demanded as she walked through the door. Marinette quickly explained the situation and handed her the letter. Lila frowned at it, then her face cleared.

“Aha! Of course!”

Then she turned back to her stepdaughter and held up the half-empty teapot suggestively. Marinette didn’t need any instructions from her, she simply took the glass pot and walked back to the kitchen to prepare a fresh batch.

It was on her way back down the hall with the hot tea in her hands that she heard rejoicing from the dining room. 

“-- worth so much!” Lila was saying. “Apparently those little trinkets are just perfect! The size and shape are unusually large for rubies, and he’s asked if there was a matching necklace to go along with it. I told him there was, and he’s willing to pay even more for the whole set! And to think those things have been cluttering up the house since I got here and I never knew how much money was just sitting in my room!”

Marinette dropped the teapot she was holding, but she didn’t even hear it shatter on the floor or feel the near-scalding liquid on her shoes. She looked at her stepmother, her hands shaking as she managed to say just one word.

“What?”

Lila looked at her with a smile on her lips and venom in her eyes.

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I found all these jewels in a box in my room. I know I must have gotten them from somewhere, but I can’t for the life of me remember where… Ah, well. Anyway, you know funds have been getting tight recently, and so I figured ‘what’s the harm’ and I’ve been sending them off to the pawn shop to be inspected. Apparently some of them are worth quite a lot!”

Marinette’s mouth was open, her eyes wide and shocked. It took everything she had to speak the words, her tone unconsciously accusatory.

“You’re selling my mother’s jewelry?”

Sabrina looked guilty, Chloe looked annoyed and bored, and Lila looked terribly apologetic, except for her eyes, which held Marinette’s in challenge.

“Oh, dear me! Have I made a mistake? I could have sworn they were mine… Oh, I remember now! They are mine. They belonged to your father, and everything your father owned passed to me and is mine to do what I like with.”

She dropped the sweet act for a moment and glared with such fury at Marinette that she had to take a step backwards.

“Everything.”

Marinette nodded and forced herself to bend down and pick up the newly smashed glass shards without flinching. Then she turned to the table again.

“Stepmother?”

Lila just looked at her, but Marinette had to go on.

“I’m afraid I’m feeling a bit unwell. I would be able to do everything better if I got a good night’s sleep tonight - might I be excused?”

She waited breathlessly for the answer. Lila took her time considering, clearly not particularly inclined to acquiesce, but finally she nodded and turned back to the table, saying

“But be sure to have breakfast ready bright and early tomorrow morning, and don’t forget to make up a market list for me to approve.”

Marinette didn’t allow her face to show anything at all until she had carried the glass pieces from the dining room. Then she threw them to the table and ran as fast as she could up the stairs and down the hall toward Lila’s room. She didn’t stop, she didn’t even really think. All she knew was that she had to get the rest of the jewelry - she wouldn’t let that witch get another cent of money out of jewelry that was never hers. 

Her mother’s jewelry was always kept in a case in the master bedroom, now Lila’s. Her door was locked, but Marinette was desperate. She ran down to the kitchen once more and reached for a hook on the wall where a large key ring lay - the household keys. A copy of every key in the house. Lila never entered the so-called “servants’ quarters”, and so had no idea the copies even existed. Marinette found the key she recognized as that of the master bedroom and ran upstairs, pausing to listen for the sound of voices as she passed the hallway to the main staircase. 

The murmur of voices was still there. She ran on to Lila’s room once more, fiddled with the key as quickly as she dared, and opened the door.

The lamp hadn’t been lighted, so the only light came from the window and the quarter moon in the sky. She entered the room quickly and scanned through it even quicker, seeing the shadows of the bed, the vanity, and the writing desk. She started walking around, looking around for the black-laquered wooden box containing her mother’s trinkets, trying to see anything without lighting a lamp in the room. She finally spotted it on the windowsill, the lacquer shining in the moonlight. She ran over to it, threw the lid back… 

And collapsed on the floor in horror. 

The box was almost empty. It had once contained an assortment of glittering gems and filigree. Now all that was left was a silver and ruby pendant, a pearl pin, and a silver and black filigree hair comb. 

Marinette grabbed them, closed the black box, and began to run. 

She didn’t care about anything anymore. She just knew she couldn’t take another moment in that house with that unprintable word of a woman sitting where her mother had once sat, throwing sickly sweet poison barbs at her every chance she got. And most of all, she had promised herself that she would never allow Lila to get her hands on any more of her mother’s possessions - her possessions. But she’d been too late. She’d failed. And now she had to get out or do something even more drastic.

She didn’t think about where she would go, she didn’t think about anything, she just ran. Pausing only to lock the door, she ran down the hall, back to the kitchen, out the back door - not even stopping for her cloak - down the garden, now overgrown for lack of care, toward the forest and away from her home. 

If she could get to the pawn shop, maybe, just maybe, they might take pity on her and tell her what they’d done with the jewelry. There wouldn't be a chance of her buying them back, but perhaps she could do something. 

She had to do something. 

She had to. 

She ran down the forest path, past her parents’ graves, through the clearing, not even sparing a glance at Tikki’s little house.

She had finally stopped running and was walking along the road to the city, refusing to allow her tears to fall, when she heard her name being called by a voice she recognized.

This night just kept getting better and better.

“Marinette, wait!”

She didn’t slow down much, but he was gaining on her. She carefully set the precious pieces of jewelry in her apron pocket, hoping he wouldn’t notice it. Not that she didn’t trust him, but… Oh, who was she kidding? She didn’t trust him at all. 

“Hello, Nathaniel. How are you?” she said wearily, hoping her tone would hint him away. Unfortunately, if the past was any indication, it wouldn’t do a thing. And indeed, she had no such luck. The young red-headed artist in the black vest jogged up to her, almost tripped over his own feet, and began to keep pace with her steps, not seeming to notice her evident discomfort. Why, oh why couldn’t she be impolite to him? It seemed like it might be the only way to get his attention. But instead, she listened with exaggerated politeness as he answered 

“I’m okay, how have you been?”

She just shrugged and kept walking. Nathaniel kept stride with her, still talking, looking her up and down. 

“Hey, do you have the night off? Do you want to go somewhere? Seriously, wherever you want, just tell me.” 

She was slightly surprised by his apparent willingness to talk - generally the artist was a quiet young man who was more likely to stare at someone than talk to them - but she didn’t have the energy for this tonight. She walked on a bit faster, bolstered her courage, and said over her shoulder

“Nathaniel, I really have to go, I can’t talk right now. Just go away.”

He stopped walking and almost fell over again, as if he wasn’t entirely able to keep his balance. There was a look in his eyes that didn’t bode well for her, but she just kept going, ostentatiously ignoring the fact that he was still following her down the path. She tried to move fast enough that he wouldn’t keep up with her, but no matter now quickly she moved, he moved in time with her. 

She had to distract herself from him. She quickly focused all her attention on the task at hand. She knew which pawn shop Lila frequented - she’d posted letters to it for her stepmother, never even knowing! She began to mentally tally up how many letters she’d seen posted to the establishment, how long ago the first one had gone out, and what had been the original jewelry in the box, until she was halfway across the bridge over the river and into the city. 

Finally, her thin store of patience was gone. She’d have to put up with Lila when she got home, she’d have to put up with her stepsisters, she might even have to put up with a jeweler who didn’t take her seriously. She didn’t have time for this, and she certainly didn’t care how much she hurt the feelings of a random acquaintance at the moment. She turned on her heel and glared right at the man behind her.

“Nathaniel, no means NO! Now get lost before I do something drastic!”

She was too emotionally upset to recognize the burning look in his eyes until he took two steps forward and grabbed her wrists.

“No, I don’t think I will. I tried asking nicely, but I guess we’re just going to have to do this the hard way.”

Marinette’s breath caught as he pulled her toward him. She struggled to free herself, panic kicking in. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think, she couldn’t make herself scream, her voice was gone. She didn’t even notice that he’d transferred both her wrists to one of his hands until the other began to caress her in a manner that made her sick. His face was close to hers, his breath smelling of beer, when without warning a crack sounded, his grip slackened, and he dropped to the ground like a sack of grain. Marinette’s breath came in gasps as she stood frozen to the spot, breathing heavily. She slowly looked up to see the other person on the bridge.

He was quite a bit taller than she, wearing all black with a short black cape swirling around him. His hood had fallen back to show rumpled blond hair, and in his hand he held a quarterstaff, obviously just used to knock out the boy at her feet. She opened her mouth to scream again when she saw his face was covered with a mask, but as she did so he lept over to her and covered her mouth with a black gloved hand. Her eyes widened as he spoke to her in a remarkably refined voice:

“Look, I don’t have time to explain, but there’s law enforcement on their way here. Please, please just take my advice and leave now.”


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette was still frozen to the spot with horror at his touch. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t even breathe for a moment as she stared at the stranger in black holding her close to him. Then something in her brain clicked and she was suddenly thrashing against him, still shaky and not thinking straight. 

She didn’t notice the sound of voices meeting her ears. She didn’t notice the man’s eyes widening as he grabbed her arm in his free hand. She just felt him as he pushed her in front of him off the stone structure, stopping only to grab something off of Nathaniel’s unconscious form. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t move on her own, so he dragged her, stumbling, off the bridge and down the bank to a spot just above the water. From here, they were shielded from sight by the white stone parapet on the bridge above them. 

Marinette was still in a daze and trying to pull free of him, but he let go of here and, glancing up at the bridge, head cocked toward the approaching voices, he pulled his black cloak off and wrapped it around her. She didn’t understand, until he said in barely more than a whisper

“Hold it tight, don’t let them see you!” 

Then, without another word, he grabbed her and pulled her close to the bridge, flush up against the wall next to him, his arm holding her there and one hand still over her mouth. She was still shaking, almost unable to stand by herself. Only by placing all of her weight against the stone behind her was she able to keep herself upright as she still tried to keep distance between her and her captor, unable to struggle against his arm holding her in place. 

The voices were finally heard on the bridge above them, laughing at Nathaniel’s plight and speculating on it, but no one came to look over the edge of the wall - not that Marinette was looking. Her brain was still trying to assert any sense of control over her limbs, to get away from this man, to forget the feel of those groping hands on the bridge…

Eventually the voices died away as the men left, hauling the limp form of Nathanial with them. The man holding her released his hold over her mouth again. With everything that had happened that night, she somehow hadn’t noticed that he’d placed it there.

Marinette was shaking. She tried to walk back up to the top of the bank, to move away from this stranger who had grabbed her and kept her quiet - mostly - against her will, but she couldn’t walk a step. Her legs gave way under her at the first attempts and she fell to her hands and knees, unable to look up or move another muscle. She felt herself sobbing but didn’t have any conscious control over her body. 

The man next to her knelt by her side and set a hand on her arm. She flinched and pulled away at the touch, and he pulled his hand away from her, but she didn’t try to move away from him any farther - partly because she couldn’t move, and partly because something inside her was telling her that this man, despite everything, might just be able to be trusted. 

Trustworthy or not, he simply sat there as she fought with every fiber of her being not to pass out or allow her sobs to be heard above them.

She must have been crumpled there for ten minutes or more, and all that time the man in black sat next to her, not saying a word, not moving at all, simply another human presence. Somewhere in her subconscious, Marinette felt an almost imperceptible sense of security, but her brain was still incapable of logical thought. She didn’t move any closer to him, but she didn’t move further away, either.

Finally, after what felt to her like an eternity of tumultuous emotions, she managed to pull herself together and take a deep breath, the first in several minutes. The man shifted to a more comfortable position on the grass, reached into a pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief. She shook her head with a muttered “thank you” as she sat back on her heels and wiped her eyes. She reached into her own apron pocket to get her own to blow her nose.

The pocket was empty.

Her heart missed a beat as she frantically searched her other pockets. Panic filled her until his voice finally caught her attention.

“Are you looking for these?”

She looked up at him and stared in horror at the red necklace, silver comb and milky-white pin sitting in his black-gloved hand. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears that she could barely hear him, but he seemed to understand her thoughts and said quickly

“Don’t worry, I didn’t take them. Your… ” he cleared his throat obviously “That man up on the bridge managed to get a hand in your pocket and grab them, I just returned the favor. Please, take them back if they’re yours.” 

She took them from his palm with shaking hands and carefully turned them all over one by one to ensure that everything was in order. Then she finally looked back up at him, seeing him clearly for the first time.

While he was obviously in disguise, his voice was soft and well-bred, not the rough accent of a lower class citizen. His blond hair was rumpled and unkempt, but clearly ministered to by at least a passable barber. His entire outfit was of unmitigated black, causing him to blend into the darkness, but she could still see the lower part of his face below the slim mask in the light of the quarter moon.

Then she looked at his eyes, which she couldn’t see clearly in the light of the moon. He was watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite place, but when his eyes met hers, he flashed her a smile as he leaned up against the bridge wall, arms crossed.

“Well, miss, I think I’m entitled to a bit of information after that truly dashing and heroic rescue. May I have the honor of your name?”

As Marinette looked him up and down once more, she realized that somehow, this total stranger had her trust after mere moments of conversation. Despite his strange handling of her, she felt no overwhelming sense of terror, she felt no anxiety that he might be a danger to her. Perhaps it was his voice, perhaps it was the fact that he had stayed with her, or even the simple fact that his posture conveyed no threatening undertone. She took a deep breath and looked down at the ground, saying in a voice still thick with tears

“Marinette.”

She couldn’t bring herself to look at him again, but she could practically hear him cocking his head to the side as he said

“Just Marinette, no family name?”

“Not anymore. I live with my stepfamily now.”

He hesitated for a moment, then said matter-of-factly

“I see. Well, Miss Marinette, now that we’ve established that, would you care for an escort back to your home?”

Marinette looked up suddenly and shook her head violently.

“No! I can’t go back until I know what happened to the rest of the jewelry.”

This time he really looked confused under the mask - or rather, his mask and lips twisted in a way that indicated confusion.

“The rest? Was there more that I missed?”

Marinette felt her natural confidence and practicality returning along with her ability to breathe normally, despite the fact that she was accompanied by a total stranger who didn’t have any business with her. She carefully set the precious pieces back into her apron pocket, keeping one hand clasped around them as she said.

“No, this is all I have at the moment. I’m going to the pawn shop to find out what happened to the rest of it.”

He stood up and offered her a hand, obviously intending to help her up. She ignored it, pushing herself up gingerly and noticing that her knees were still shaking as he said calmly

“Did something happen to the rest of your jewelry?”

She swallowed hard as he led the way up to the bridge once more, but her breathing remained steady and her voice a neutral tone, even as she said

“My stepmother, she… She’s been selling my mother’s jewelry. And… she didn’t tell me until this was all she had left. It’s all technically hers to do what she likes with, but… It was my Maman’s.”

Her voice had softened at the last few words, as if she didn’t expect to be heard or heeded for them, but he heard them nonetheless. And his heart was wrung for this young woman who seemed to be so beaten down by the world.

“I see. Do you know where you’re going?”

She nodded again as she started walking across the bridge and into the city, he walking beside her.

“It’s only a few blocks away. I’m going to see if I can trace any of the other jewels and try to barter for them. Someone might take pity on me and offer to sell some back at a lower rate, something I can afford. And at least I know that the matching ruby earrings are still there, she just got the letter today about--”

Suddenly she stopped and looked up at her companion, his face still hidden behind a mask, hers contorting in suspicion.

“Wait, I’m sorry - who are you? I don’t know you, how do I know you’re not a thief or worse?”

He just smiled down at her - several inches down, she noted. He was quite a bit taller than she, well-built and muscular, his arms crossed across his chest negligently. She felt her heart race a tiny bit, not in fear but from some other emotion she didn’t recognize.

“Well, you don’t necessarily, but looking at the facts it seems unlikely.” he said with a tiny chuckle. “I stopped and rescued you from the arms of your would-be assailant; kept you from being caught by law enforcement - who would have just been a nuisance, by the way, especially since it seems like you’re doing this with as little fuss as possible; I managed to grab your jewelry for you, handed them back without a fight, and didn’t just leave you alone in the dark. It’s not safe for a young woman to travel alone this late at night, you know.”

She sighed.

“I know, I just… I needed to get out of the house before I did something I’d regret.”

He gave another strangely alluring low chuckle

“Like putting poison in her teacup?”

She had to laugh, too - softly, but a laugh nonetheless.

“You know, someone else I know had the same thought. It’s too much, though. I’d never go that far. I can’t.”

She looked up and read the sign over a shop door, then stepped up to the door and jiggled the handle. It didn’t move. Only then did she realize that the light was out. The shop was closed for the night.

“... I should have thought about this. Blast. Why didn’t I think about this! Stupid, stupid! And I can’t come back during the day!”

The man at her side looked at her quizzically.

“Can’t come back during the day? Why not?”

Marinette shook her head.

“I… It’s not important. I just need to keep these safe.”

He looked at the hand in her apron pocket, still clasped around the treasure.

“Do you have someone you could trust that you could leave them with?”

“... I could maybe... She could… And then I can… Aha!”

And with these strange and seemingly unconnected sentence fragments, she took a deep breath and began to walk back the way they had come. The black-clad man followed, running a few steps in front of her, facing toward her as he walked backwards.

“Wait! You mean that after all that you’re just turning around and giving up?”

“Of course not!” she said impatiently, walking briskly back the way they had come, leaving him trailing behind as he faltered. “I… have to get back before Lila decides to do something drastic. I can leave the rest of the jewels in a safe space where she won’t think to look for them - she’ll be furious, of course, but I’ll just have to deal with it. And I might be able to write to the proprietor of the shop and explain the situation - my father used to be highly regarded in town, and my name might be enough to get through to someone.” she paused her trail of speech and seemed to hesitate before saying more softly “... And I was able to get out of that house.”

Her companion was shocked by the transformation from the emotionally overwrought girl he’d rescued less than half an hour ago into this straightforward, practical young woman beside him now. She clearly wasn’t happy with where she was in life, however little she might have told him about it, but she was still willing to go back and face the music for whatever reason.

Much like he would have to do soon enough, he thought wryly as he kept pace with the dark-haired girl beside him. He’d been wandering the streets of the city for less than an hour when his path brought him in sight of the bridge and the confrontation taking place on it. He had originally only stepped in to stop the assault, but his interest was now piqued in her and her plight, and he asked with real curiosity and a certain amount of sympathy

“I take it Lila is the evil stepmother with the unmentionable personality?”

She nodded, a look in her eye saying that she had a few words she could apply to it herself. 

“And do you live solely with the evil stepmother, or is there a whole evil stepfamily in the house with you?”

She considered this for a moment as they crossed the bridge and kept walking along the road, his steps in time with hers, then she shook her head decidedly.

“Not evil, no. Chloé’s selfish, and Sabrina doesn’t know how to stand up for herself, but they’re not bad in and of themselves. It’s just Lila, really. How on earth she managed to get not one, but three men to marry her…”

She stopped and looked up at him again with a question in her eye.

“But I don’t see why that matters to you. And besides, you never told me your name. I can’t very well carry on a conversation with a man when I don’t know his name.”

He gave a small gulp, wondering whether he could get out of answering again, but she was staring him dead in the eye. 

“Oh well,” he thought, “Just get it over with, I suppose.”

And so, he swept her a flamboyant bow and a flashy grin as he gently reached for her hand and said

“My name, O fair lady, is Chat Noir.”

She pulled her hand away from his reach and stepped backwards quickly, but her eyes lit up with laughter, and her smile changed her whole demeanor. While he had noticed that she was pretty before, with her short figure, light pink corset and white blouse still covered by his short cloak, her dark hair pulled from her face in two pigtails - he’d seen all of these, but the smile she gave him made her look positively enchanting. It was a smile that almost reminded him of one he’d known long ago, a little boy’s vision shadowing it from his memory. 

“Chat Noir? Are you a Cat Burglar, then?” she asked, eyeing his black clothes and quarterstaff with interest this time. He just smiled down at her as they continued walking down the road and replied

“Nothing so exciting. I like to keep the kingdom safe and happy if I can - and I especially enjoy helping maidens such as yourself. If you don’t mind my asking, who was that young man from the bridge? A thwarted love or rejected suitor?”

Marinette let out a shout of unladylike laughter.

“Not likely. He just doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. And believe me, I gave him plenty of opportunities.”

“So just a cad, then. Not a true gentleman worthy of you.”

She just laughed again as she kept walking, not looking back to see if he was keeping up - not that she needed to worry about that. He was truly intrigued by Marinette now, part of him even wondering whether she was somehow a different person from the girl on the bridge. He was about to ask her more when she suddenly veered off onto a small path into the forest, and turned back to him, unwrapping the short black cloak still sitting around her shoulders and holding it out to him. 

“I have to thank you for your help, Sir Chat Noir, but I’m afraid our paths split from here. Thank you very much for all of your help.” she said seriously. “I really, truly mean that. And I hope we’ll meet again someday. Though hopefully not quite as eventfully.”

With that she turned and, almost tripping over a tree root, began to walk down the path. Chat Noir walked a few steps forward so that it would seem that he was leaving, and waited for her footsteps to disappear. With a tiny smile of pure excitement, he crept down the path after her, making no noise at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers! So sorry I didn't update yesterday, I have very little excuse except for total exhaustion. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far - we'll be getting to the "real" plot soon enough, I promise! I'm always looking to improve my writing, so if there are things you particularly enjoyed or thought could use a little bit of polishing, please feel free to leave a comment. However, please don't feel obligated - just you reading it is enough.


	6. Chapter 6

Marinette made a noise of annoyance and watched her footing more closely after she tripped on the second tree root in as many minutes. Unlike her usual route to the little cottage, she was less familiar with the path through the forest coming this direction, and didn’t know the placement of each branch and rock - not to mention, the moonlight was still mostly obscured by the trees. She was glad when the light of Tikki’s little cottage came into view and she was able to orient herself toward it. She knocked softly on the door and was surprised when the door was opened almost immediately. 

Tikki’s face was surprised, but it quickly turned to concern as she took in the state of Marinette’s clothing - something Marinette herself hadn’t even noticed. Her apron was crooked, her hair was falling out of its usual pigtails, and she realized suddenly that she had mud all over her skirt from her time on her knees. Tikki tried to throw her arms around her visitor, who only escaped by stepping to the side. Instead, the older woman grabbed her by the shoulder, not noticing the sudden stiffening in Marinette’s frame.

“Marinette! Is everything alright? You look terrible, and what on earth happened to that skirt? What did that woman do to you? So help me, if she’s--”

Marinette quickly freed herself, stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

“I’m fine, Tikki. I mean, she’s being awful to me as always, but that’s not important right now. I need to give you these - please, I need you to keep them safe.”

She pulled her hand out of her apron pocket where it was still wrapped around the pin, necklace and comb. Tikki looked at them for a moment, her eyes hardened to sapphires, and she began to swear in a voice of fury Marinette had never heard from her nurse before. In fact, Marinette realized with a sudden shock, she’d never heard Tikki swear before - it was a novel experience for her. But even though it was her own dear Tikki, she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt or speak up until she had finally calmed down long enough to finally ask

“How dare she!? That odious, spiteful vixen! What was she doing!?”

Marinette forced herself to keep her voice even, but her train of thought was still frazzled and she rambled on, almost unable to stop herself.

“She’s been selling them, this was all that was left in the box. I tried to go to the pawn shop to see if there was anything I could do to get them back, but they were closed by the time I got there and I can’t take them back to the house, Lila might search my things and I don’t have a safe place for them, so please, can you keep them here?”

Tikki nodded once before sweeping them carefully into her hands and tucking them safely away. Then she turned back and gestured to the chair by the little wooden table.

“Talk to me, Marinette. I don’t want you to keep this to yourself, you can’t handle any more. I know something’s wrong, so tell me - what happened?”

So Marinette nodded, sighed, and sat down next to her nurse to relate the story of the night. Tikki’s mouth grew steadily thinner and thinner as she explained how she’d gotten out of the house with the jewels, met Nathaniel and rejected his offer of company, and his subsequent aggression on the bridge. Then she paused, realizing suddenly that there was one part of the evening she didn’t want to tell anyone about, even Tikki. She decided to be as vague as she could without raising suspicions. 

“But another man came along and knocked him out, then offered to walk me wherever I needed to go. He was a perfect gentleman,” she assured Tikki as she saw the ire rising in her, “and he left me at the opening to the path without any kind of trouble at all. It was as if he’d been the complete opposite of Nathaniel - but that’s not important. The important thing is--”

Tikki’s eyes were blazing again, but her interruption made it clear that her anger was towards Nathaniel, not the unknown rescuer. In fact, Marinette wondered with a sense of relief if she’d even heard the mention of such a person.

“I ought to give that boy a thrashing he’ll never forget!” said Tikki, standing up and starting to pace. “To force himself a girl like that! What kind of terrible excuse for a human being would do that?!”

“He’s just a cad.” said Marinette, smiling a little to herself as she echoed the mysterious Chat Noir’s words. Tikki just kept walking the few steps from the chair to the fireplace and back as she said

“And as for that woman, I… I… I don’t have the words for how vile she is. You can’t stay at that house anymore, Marinette. I can’t let you go back there. It’s not safe for you!”

Marinette felt her heartbeat increase, but she tried to keep an even tone as she said

“I have to go back, Tikki. I--”

Tikki whirled to face her, and Marinette had to physically prevent herself from shrinking back.

“You what, Marinette? Did you ever promise you’d allow yourself to be made into a slave? Did you swear you’d always stay at the beck and call of a woman who doesn’t deserve the smallest amount of your kindness? Why are you doing this to yourself? I know you're not happy, your parents wouldn’t want you to subject yourself to this anymore than I do, so who is all of this for?!”

Marinette hated lying to her friend. She hated herself every time she had to, and so she tried as often as possible to equivocate and avoid the issue. But in the face of Tikki’s direct question, she had to say something. She had to.

“It’s a promise I made a long time ago. I can’t explain it, but--”

“That’s not good enough this time. Who did you make this promise to, anyway? You’re letting your kind heart ruin your life and it’s making you miserable! You deserve so much better than what you’re getting, and you know it!”

Marinette wanted so, so much to blurt out the truth, but she knew that she couldn’t tell Tikki anything. She couldn’t. But the waves of fury and injustice coming from the older woman were almost enough to make her break down. She summoned up every ounce of courage to stay where she was, to not make a single move that might lead her nurse to the truth. Instead, she pulled out the excuse she gave even to herself some days and looked up at the older woman, saying with the smallest of quivers to her voice,

“I can’t tell you what’s happening, because you would try to stop me from going back, but I can tell you this: A long time ago, I promised a friend that I would never allow someone like that to win. I promised to keep being kind to everyone, even if they aren’t kind to me.” Marinette felt her lip begin to quiver. “Mama and Papa are gone, and that promise I made to him is the only thing keeping me connected to who I was. And no matter how long that might take, I can’t just let it go and forget about it.” Marinette felt her tears begin to fall. “...I can’t. Because he might have already, and I promised him I never would. I’ve never broken a promise, Tikki, and I’m not starting now. Not with this.”

Tikki’s look of disbelief quickly turned to compassion, and it made Marinette’s heart ache, but she knew that the truth would be even more painful to both of them.

“You’re still hoping he’ll come back and sweep you off your feet one day, aren’t you?” Tikki said in a much gentler voice, sitting down again and reaching for Marinette’s hand. Marinette pulled it away and stood up in her turn, walking to the window and looking out at the black trees. From behind her, she heard Tikki say

“You know it’s been ten years?”

Marinette nodded again, blinking the tears from her eyes and wondering briefly how she had any more tears to cry at this point. She wondered why this excuse had brought it about - why was she so upset? She’d know for years that her little childhood fantasy would never really come true, but for some reason that didn’t make it any easier to bear tonight. Tikki came and put out her arms around her former charge, but Marinette pulled free and set her hands on Tikki’s shoulders, keeping her an arm’s length away. Tikki then looked down at her sadly.

“Marinette, I know why you want to keep him in your heart. I understand, I do, but you have to move on someday. For your own sake, you have to move on from the past. Please, it’s not safe for you there at that house. Stay here at least for tonight?”

Marinette shook her head, ignoring the question, hating herself for lying to her only friend, but knowing that she didn’t have a choice. And not even knowing if she was completely lying, either.

“He asked me to always keep loving everyone around me and making them happy the way I did for him. He said that evil people never won, and even if I met them they wouldn’t last forever, and all I had to do was remember that he would find me again someday. Please, Tikki… That’s the only thing I still have to hold onto. I know you’re still here, but… it’s different now. You could fix everything for me when I was a little girl, but now you’re just here. And no one can know you’re still here or Lila would take you away from me, too. All I have left is you and that promise. I… I have to go. Goodnight.”

Marinette quickly turned and opened the door, stepping out into the silent night. Leaving behind the clearing and Tikki, watching her in concern from the doorway, she quickly made her way toward the little glade and her parent’s graves. She reached it quickly and almost collapsed, slumped down on her mother’s headstone, her tears finally gone. She couldn’t feel anything. All the terror, anger and sadness from earlier in the evening seemed to have left her feeling utterly empty. She just sat there, listening to the soft noises of the night and wondering what had happened to her. The little girl who used to be so happy and joyful was now left broken, lost and forgotten by everyone who had once promised to love her. She finally raised her head and noticed one of the roses blooming on the bush between the headstones. This was the first time it had bloomed this year, she realized, and she reached out to touch it softly.

Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder and she let out a small scream, pushing herself away and curling into the fetal position, her hands over her head, her arms only just missing the rose bush and its thorns as she fell. 

“Hey, hey! It’s okay, it’s just me!”

Marinette’s breathing slowed a bit as she looked up to see a black-clad figure standing a few feet from her, his hands outstretched in a gesture of comfort and consolation, eyes wide behind his mask.

“C-Chat Noir! What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer, instead kneeling down next to her, his eyes looking at the headstones. He traced the name on one with a gloved hand.

“Sabine Cheng. Thomas Dupain. Who are they?”

Marinette raised herself from the ground shakily and set her hand on her mother’s headstone to steady herself. She didn’t say a word, but apparently her face was enough for him to understand.

“Your parents?”

Marinette nodded and settled herself to the ground in front of her mother’s name. He moved slightly to sit a bit nearer to her and together they looked at the headstones, she sitting on her knees, hands clenched around the fabric of her skirt, and he absentmindedly running his hand across the top of her father’s stone. In the silence, the only sound was that of the insects buzzing and the wind rustling the leaves.

“My mother died of wasting fever nine years ago, and my father died almost two years ago now.” Marinette said after a few moments, breaking the silence and setting her hand on the ground as if she could reach down and touch the woman buried beneath. “This used to be their favorite spot when we moved here, so when my mother died my father wanted her buried here instead of the churchyard. For some reason, Lila didn’t object to him being buried with her. I don’t think she ever really cared in the first place.”

Chat Noir set a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. Marinette’s breath caught and she stiffened. He quickly removed it and shifted to a more comfortable position on the hard ground.

“I’m really sorry to hear that. I know how hard it is to lose parents. My mother died twelve years ago now, and I miss her every day. I sometimes think my father died a little bit with her.”

Marinette turned and looked at him quickly,

“I’m so sorry. What happened to your father?”

There was the barest hint of a sob under his tenor voice.

“He loved my mother very much, and I guess he just was unable to live without her. When she died, it’s as if he lost the will to live and blamed the rest of the world for not feeling the same as him. And he’s been like that ever since. A part of himself died with her, and it’s like the rest of us can’t reach what’s left.”

Marinette reached out her hand and almost touched his shoulder, then turned back to the rosebush and headstones, not seeing the look of surprise he gave her as he saw her hand jerk away. He stretched a finger out and touched the same rose she’d been reaching for. In the moonlight, the deep red blossom looked almost black. 

“This is beautiful. Was it theirs?”

She shook her head, smiling a little bit at the memory. 

“No, it’s mine. I planted it here after my mother died. It was a gift from a friend who used to be very close to me. So really, this is where I go to be close to all three of them.” 

He gave a little smile of his own and turned back to her.

“Where did you say you live?”

Marinette pointed in the direction. 

“My house is down that path, and I should probably leave now. I suppose I technically can’t forbid you from following me, it clearly wouldn’t do any good, but you really don’t have to.”

He smiled and rose to his feet, holding out a hand for her much like he had below the bridge. She ignored it once more and raised herself from the ground. 

“What kind of protector would I be if I let you go alone, fair maiden?” he said, stepping onto the path beside her. She allowed herself a tiny giggle and had to ask

“Why the nicknames? You know my real name.”

He grinned back at her almost flirtatiously.

“Ah, but what would be the fun in that? Besides, I happen to have a great love for nicknames - I’ve had a few myself that I’m quite fond of.”

“Oh?”

He hesitated for a moment, then said nonchalantly

“Chat Noir, for one. You don’t suppose I do this kind of thing all day, do you?”

She laughed softly, her arms crossed across her chest as they continued walking down the path, coming into sight of the overgrown garden.

“I have to admit, I hadn’t thought about it. But we’ve only been around each other for a few hours, don’t you think it’s a bit soon to be sharing secrets with a stranger?”

“You did the same to me - won’t you let me return the favor, Princess?”

Even in the moonlight he could see her flushed face, and he wondered whether that particular nickname brought it about. But before he could ask, she answered

“I actually didn’t mean to mention anything at all, you just caught me at a difficult time. Only one other person knows anything about the situation, and she’s someone I’ve known all my life. So I can’t really understand why a total stranger wants to confide in me, or why you let me tell you everything I did.”

“Because you seem to be a kind person who loves without judgement.” he said simply. “I’ve only known a few people like that myself, and I’ve lost them all. So I try to find those who are like that and hold tight to them.”

Her blush, which had faded, rose up again. She really was very cute when she was flustered and not having an emotional breakdown - which, Chat Noir thought grimmly, was probably well overdue. If she’d been living under a stepmother like the one she’d described - or rather, not described - for two years, the fact that she was still so easily optimistic and kind-hearted was a feat comparable to Hercules. 

They walked through the overgrown garden and reached the kitchen door. Marinette turned to Chat Noir.

“Thank you again, whoever you are. I don’t know who you really are or where you came from, and I don’t need to know, but you really were sent from heaven tonight.”

She turned and tried to open the door. It didn’t open. She tried again, this time jiggling the handle. It was still shut tight. She reached into her apron pocket, fumbled around, and suddenly looked very concerned.

“Did you happen to see my keys?”

Chat Noir looked around aimlessly on the ground, and then stiffened.

“Were they in the same pocket as those jewels you had?”

“I don’t know, I can’t remember… maybe?”

Chat Noir gave a grimace. 

“Well then… I think the redheaded man from the bridge might have them in his possession at the moment… is that an issue?”

Marinette put her head in her hands and breathed deeply, then jiggled the door again.

“I didn’t lock it, so who on earth would have? I’m the only one who uses this--”

Then she said a word under her breath that Chat Noir pretended not to hear, eyes flashing.

“That witch locked me out! So she thinks she’s so clever and sneaky? I’ll show her.”

With a look not of anger but of determination, and even a smile that would have boded ill for anyone in her path, she set off around the house, Chat Noir following. She walked around the corner of the house and looked up. Chat Noir did the same. A tower rose above them, ivy climbing up the trellis, and Marinette didn’t waste any time setting her foot to the plants and beginning to climb. Chat Noir quickly reached out a hand to stop her, not touching her but close enough to get her attention.

“Hang on a second, I have a better idea.”

He pulled a bag out from under his cloak and fished out a length of rope. Then he quickly made a loop in the rope and peered up at the tower.

“Where are you trying to get to?”

“The window, third floor.” she said, pointing. He gave her a wicked grin.

“Piece of cake. Hang on.”

He threw the rope, and his aim was almost perfect, catching on a large metal hook in the stone, once presumably intended to lower items down from the windows. The rope caught on the hook and held as he tugged it taut. Then he handed her the line with a courtly and entirely mocking bow.

“It’s all yours, Princess. Hey, I can call you that now, since you’re stuck in a tower. Untie the rope and toss it down once you’re in.”

She gave him a grin to rival his own and began to climb up, using the rope for balance and the ivy for footing. He watched her go from a respectful distance and saw her clamber in the window, then turn and untie the rope, dropping it down to him. He caught it as it dropped to the ground, then on impulse he looked up and bowed to her in an overblown manner. 

“Until next time, Princess.”

The laugh he heard from the window was practically music, and he was smiling broadly as he slipped the rope back into his bag and crept away from the dark house.

Marinette watched the blackclad figure slip into the forest, and then quickly fell onto her bed, not even taking off her muddy skirt. She slept fitfully until the first rays of morning caught her eyelids, then she opened her eyes and rolled over. She knew the day would be a living horror for her, but it was made more bearable knowing that at the very least, Lila wouldn’t be able to squander any more of her mother’s jewelry, and that her own adventure the night before was hers and hers alone.

The look on Lila’s face when Marinette came into the dining room, holding a fully cooked breakfast and looking fresh and rested, instead of knocking abjectly at the back door, was worth its weight in gold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day, my lovelies! Thank you so much for coming back - here's another chapter for you to enjoy. Please comment or PM with any ideas, theories, or questions you might have - I'd love to interact with you through the course of the story and get a feel for my readers, to get to know the people who are reading my work instead of just seeing numbers.   
> Until next time, stay safe and healthy.


	7. Chapter 7

Adrien woke up at the sound of an opening door. He rolled and opened his eyes to see the same sight he saw every morning. 

“Good morning, your Highness.”

The same servant as before entered with the same tray, setting it on the same table. Was everything just the same as every other day?

But no, it wasn’t. Something was different. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something else had taken over his mind. Perhaps it was the knowledge that he’d been out in the night, but it seemed like something more. 

He would have continued this train of thought if the servant hadn’t cleared his throat gently.

“Sir?”

“Mhm… Morning. What time is it?” Adrien said with a yawn. The servant only hesitated a moment before saying 

“Half-past nine, Highness. Your tutor said--”

Adrien jerked his head up and bolted for the wardrobe. He was dressed in record time and down the stairs before he’d even had time to rub the sleep from his eyes, let alone touch the hot chocolate sitting on the low table. He cursed himself for staying out so late the night before and only hoped that he wouldn’t get caught running late by Nathalie. He started thinking of a plausible lie he might be able to tell, but nothing he could come up with would even begin to satisfy her, so he just prayed he might be able to avoid her.

And he was only just in time to do so. He was turning a corner when he saw her austere bun walking down the hall the same direction he was. He quickly turned the other way, waited for her footsteps to fade slightly, then walked briskly down toward the study, hoping she wouldn’t come back around the edge of the hall. Just as he was looking around cautiously before stepping through the door, Plagg reached a hand out and caught him by the arm, pulling him inside and shutting the door behind them with a snap. Adrien stumbled slightly, then turned to glare at his tutor. He wasn’t entirely shocked when Plagg turned and glared right back at him, his black hair bristling up on his head. 

“Care to tell me what you were pulling with that stunt, kid!?” He whisper-shouted at him, green eyes blazing. “I had to face the dragon this morning and explain to her that we were awake until all hours of the night training, for some inexplicable reason! She thinks you were off training with me at one in the morning, by the way. What were you thinking going off with that girl?!”

Adrien was about to launch into the requested explanation when he suddenly caught onto the meaning in Plagg’s words.

“What do you--? How do you know about that?!”

Plagg gave him a condescending look that very clearly said “How stupid can you get?”

“Kid, you started this Chat Noir thing when you were fourteen years old. Did you really think I was going to just let you leave the castle and run around as a black-clad vigilante without keeping tabs on you?”

Adrien felt his jaw drop in shock and betrayal, and for a moment he couldn’t speak a word.

“You… you’ve been following me every time I go out?!” he hissed finally, keeping his voice down only because he knew his secret identity was on the line - if they had been anywhere else, he would have shouted.

“Oh, don’t be so surprised.” Plagg snapped as he strode over to the table. “You’re the crown prince. One false move, one wrong word to the wrong person, and you'd have had every criminal in the city fighting over you. And no matter how competent you are with that staff of yours, it doesn’t prevent people from overpowering you by sheer brute force, or from putting the pieces together if they get too much evidence. They haven’t, by the way, no thanks to you.”

“Were you following me last night, Plagg?” Adrien demanded, his chest suddenly feeling very tight. Plagg rolled his green eyes in exasperation.

“No, I went out in the middle of the night to pick flowers - of course I was following you! And no, before you ask, I didn’t get a good look at the girl. Care to tell me who she was?”

“A girl who needed help, that’s all.” Adrien knew that his voice was overly nonchalant, and wasn’t surprised when Plagg’s glare, which had died down slightly, flared up again.

“You are supposed to be getting engaged to a princess this week, what kind of trick do you think you were playing at with that girl? I saw what you were doing - she sent you packing and you still followed after her. What, were you walking her home? Doesn’t she have a family who’d be concerned if a strange man in a mask showed up with their daughter?”

In all their years together, Adrien had never been closer to hitting his tutor. It took all his self-control to simply ball his fists and keep them at his side.

“I ran into someone who happened to be a girl and happened to need help and support, okay? Isn’t that what I’m supposed to be doing, helping people who need it? I was making sure she got home safely, and no, for your information, she doesn’t have a family. Or at least not one that cares - something we apparently have in common.”

“An awfully long time to have taken walking her home.” Plagg said dryly. Adrien ground his teeth and crossed his arms belligerently. 

“She didn’t know I was following her and so she stopped off to see someone on the way.” Plagg looked skeptical, but Adrien continued on, glaring at him all the time. “Then she walked to her parent’s graves and I caught up with her there before walking her home and helping her get back in - apparently her stepmother is an old witch who’s willing to lock her stepdaughter out just to prove a point. So you can get your head out of the gutter and just say what you mean to say.”

“Look, I don’t particularly care what kind of vigilante justice you enforce in the city, I don’t care that you stopped to help this girl out when she needed it. In fact, I’m proud of you and your moral compass. I just don’t think you thought this through, Adrien! This out-of-castle experience was supposed to be so that you could see how the other half lives, not so you could walk a pretty milkmaid home!”

Plagg’s next sensation was that of being socked on the jaw. He found himself stumbling back and crashing into a chair, holding his face and looking up at his student. He saw Adrien’s eyes blazing and his mouth set in the thinnest of lines. Plagg saw, for the first time in over a decade, the temper the prince had inherited from his father and had tried at every turn to curb. He groaned and sat forward, massaging his cheekbone.

“Nice hit.” he said begrudgingly. “But it just proves my point. What happened to you last night, Adrien? Something happened to put you in this defensive mindset, and I’m willing to bet it’s got something to do with her, right? What did this girl do to you in less than two hours?”

Adrien’s wrath had died down and he dropped his hands to his sides, seeming defeated even by his victory over his tutor. He slumped into the other chair and held his head in his hands, running them through his neat locks and thrusting them out of place.

“I… I don’t know, Plagg. She needed help, I helped her, and all of a sudden it was as if I couldn’t leave her side - I mean, I obviously could, but I didn’t want to. I haven’t felt like that in years. It was almost like…”

Adrien stopped talking, his eyes staring down at the knots in the wooden table. Plagg sighed and raised his eyes to heaven, wondering what he’d ever done to deserve this.

“Nice girl?” he said, shifting his tone to that of the confidante his pupil clearly needed. Adrien gave a little smile and sat back in his chair, looking into the fire.

“Really nice, but it’s more than that. Somehow I was there exactly when she needed me, and not just because of that awful guy on the bridge. I don’t know what she might have done if I’d just left her there. She’s living with this terrible family and she’s somehow managed to keep herself afloat all alone, but she was so overwhelmed that she just blurted out her life story to any kind stranger who would listen. She’s clearly been hurt, she couldn't stand me touching her, even something so simple as a hand on the shoulder, and… and despite all that, she’s honest, and kind, and funny, and she’s got this streak of mischief in her! Plagg, you should have seen her - she was ready to climb up the wall to get into the house. She’s just… she’s a good person. I’m glad I could help her a little bit. It felt a little like the old days, you know?”

Through this monologue, Plagg had been looking to the heavens in plea, as it finished he turned and took in his pupil’s whole demeanor. Plagg suddenly went pale and jerked upward. 

“No… No, Adrien, you’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve known this girl for what, two hours? You’re crazy!”

Adrien shook himself and sat up again.

“... you’re right. I’m just overwhelmed and don’t want to deal with things here, I guess I was looking for some kind of outlet and she just happened to be there. It’s just… It was a stupid thought anyway.”

Plagg blessed every star above personally and by name as the boy beside him dropped the subject.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for the shorter chapter, next week's will be longer. I hope you enjoyed this little interlude - Plagg is one of my favorite characters to write, and this was a fun chapter to edit to add those little character aspects.   
> Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!


	8. Chapter 8

Of every possible outcome Marientte had expected, this hadn’t even made it into the top hundred. A fire in the kitchen was on that list. A freak hurricane tearing through the country was on that list. Heck, her mother rising from the grave to slap Lila across the face had been higher on that list than this, because never, in all her time with her stepfamily, had Chloé ever helped her.

Marinette was scrubbing the parlor floor on hands and knees when Lila came storming down from her bedroom with the empty black chest in her hand, calling Marinette’s name in a way that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Without another warning, Lila slammed the door open, strode into the parlor, and began to scream insults at her stepdaughter in a tone of such anger that all Marinette could do was stand there and wait for it to be over. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Lila, instead staring at the floor and clenching her hands around her rag to prevent her stepmother from seeing how much she was shaking, until she suddenly heard another, very different voice cut through the air.

“Mother, if you must scream at Marinette, could you at least do it while I don’t have a headache?”

Marinette glanced up briefly as Lila rounded on the blonde girl entering the room, only tempering her voice slightly as she stated

“This little thief has been going through my things - things that are mine by law! She stole the rest of the jewels in this box, and she’s probably sold them to make a little extra cash for herself! That’s what you were doing when you snuck out last night, wasn’t it!” she spat down at her stepdaughter.

Chloé sighed loudly and tossed her pale gold curls over her shoulder with a jerk. Marinette braced herself for more rebukes, but what came next made her stare up at Chloé in astonishment.

“Do you mean those cheap jewels in your box, mother?” she said in a tone of utter boredom, examining her perfectly buffed nails as she spoke. “Actually, I went to bed early last night, and I noticed that your door was unlocked. I decided I didn’t want to give her the chance to take them herself. They’re pretty, aren’t they?”

Marinette just gaped at her stepsister in shock. Luckily, Lila was staring at her intently and the dumbfounded look of shock on her face apparently was tantamount to confirmation of her daughter’s story. She set the box down on the couch and walked up to Marinette, suddenly resuming her saccharine tone as she gently patted her cheek and said

“Oh, my poor Marinette! And here I thought it might have been you! Well, can you blame me? Of course you can’t! Now, clean up this mess before I get back, and do have the tea ready, won’t you? Of course you will.”

And with that, she strode out of the room, black box in hand again. Marinette took a deep breath and continued with her chores, hands and breath still shaking. Chloé just sat down in a comfortable armchair by the bay window and began to read the book on the side table. Marinette finished her scrubbing in silence, trying to make as little noise as possible, then turned and opened her mouth to speak to her stepsister. 

To say what, exactly? To thank her for lying to protect her? To ask why she’d done it? But before she could bring herself to say anything, Chloé looked up and saw her gaping.

“What are you still doing here?” she asked in her usual stuck-up voice. “Don’t you have something to be doing? And get me a glass of water while you’re at it - the dust in this room is insufferable!”

And so Marinette had no choice but to take herself off to the kitchen again. She was several minutes bringing the rest of the usual tea things out, along with Chloé’s requested water, but her hands were still shaking slightly as she entered the parlor once more. She stopped, however, when she heard Chole’s voice - except if she hadn’t walked in and seen her stepsister’s lips moving, she wouldn’t have believed it was really her. This tone of voice was so different: low and serious.

“Does she really think we don’t know? I’m telling you, it’s all going to come back to bite her sooner or later, and us along with her if we don’t do something. I don’t want to be on the wrong side when that happens--”

As Marinette made a slight noise, Sabrina looked up from her sister’s face and gasped, cutting off the conversation and turning away in embarrassment. Chloé looked up and her unusually serious face was replaced by the usual mixture of disdain and boredom before she opened up her book again, ostentatiously ignoring both her younger sisters. Sabrina just smiled shyly at Marinette before looking around frantically for something - anything - to do.

The strawberry blonde was by far the kindest of the three women, even if she did follow her mother and sister’s example in keeping Marinette chained to the housework. She may not have been the bravest of girls, but she still left a bread roll here or “accidentally” dropped a few coins there, and all things considered she still made at least a slight effort to make Marinette’s daily grind a bit easier. Her older sister, on the other hand, could easily have been identified as her mother’s daughter by any outsider. While their clothing styles were as different as could be - Lila still clinging to the fashions of her young days - they shared enough mannerisms to make it clear. Until today, Marinette would have assumed that Sabrina, not Chloé, would be the one to keep her safe from their mother’s wrath, but apparently not.

With a small smile, Marinette set the glass of water down at Chloé’s elbow and began to set out the rest of the requested tea things. When she’d finished, without hearing another word from either of them, she went back to the kitchen and began preparing dinner. 

As might have been expected, Lila wasn’t satisfied with anything in the meal, but her poison barbs fell short today. Marinette could feel Chloé’s eyes on her all through the evening, and knew that Lila was watching her like a hawk, looking for any kind of misstep, but something was different tonight. As strange as it seemed, she wasn’t as affected by the comments her stepmother made. She simply went about her chores, taking what slight comfort she could in the knowledge that her lack of reaction was more aggravating to her stepmother than anything else. 

And she made a mental note to slip an extra cookie onto Chloé’s plate the next morning.

She was out the door early the next day, walking down the sweeping drive toward the main road - she saved the forest path for nighttime ramblings - and hoping to get to the shops before the heat of the day. She hadn’t managed to write to the owner of the pawn shop, and she was just wondering whether it might be open and generally empty today, what she might be able to barter away for the jewels, and whether anyone would mention it to Lila if she visited, when she heard her name called. In contrast to the last time she’d been walking down this road by herself, she turned with delight and saw a beautiful amber-skinned girl with a basket over her arm skipping toward her.

“Girl, how have you been!” the newcomer asked, her honey-colored curls bouncing as she looked Marinette up and down. “I haven’t seen you in weeks - how are Lila and the girls holding up?”

Marinette sighed, knowing that her old friend Alya was not one of the few people immune to Lila’s persuasion. She truly believed that Lila and her daughters were all either pitching in to help Marinette or were too sickly to do anything more strenuous than drink their seemingly endless supply of tea. Which one she believed at the moment, Marinette had no idea.

When Marinette’s mother had been ill and the family had moved to this part of the country, Alya had been one of Marinette’s only friends for several years. The two girls were the same age and though their different temperaments sometimes clashed, they always made up in the end and had been as close as sisters. It wasn’t until the advent of Lila that the two had drifted apart - partly because Marinette was always so busy waiting on her stepfamily, and partly because Alya believed each and every one of Lila’s statements and hung on them as gospel truth. 

So, to avoid a possible awkward conversation and not wanting to lie to her friend directly, Marinette just smiled and gave a non-committal answer before changing the subject. Luckily, Alya was the biggest gossip in town and was always ready to share her news. She chattered on as they walked, the crowd around them thickening as they got closer to the city.

“-- and Ivan’s started waking Mylene home in the evenings, isn’t that sweet?”

Marinette nodded as they crossed the bridge and entered the outskirts of the market quarter, but suddenly ducked behind her friend as she saw a familiar form.

“Hide me!” she hissed at Alya, who just looked at her, confused.

“From who?” Alya looked around and saw the tall, lanky figure in a black vest, his red hair standing out in the crowd. “Nathaniel? Come on, why would you be avoiding him? We’ve known him forever!”

Marinette gestured away from the main street and Alya followed her a few steps down a side alley, watching the young man in question walk away from them.

“Yes, Alya.” Marinette said vehemently. “I’m aware we’ve known him forever, but I ran into him the other night and he tried to molest me!”

Alya’s sudden face of shock and anger almost made her laugh, it was such a contrast from her usually cheerful expression.

“Why, that--”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Marinette interrupted her. “But he didn’t get far. Someone came along and helped me out.”

Alya looked at Marinette’s face, which she felt turning pink under her scrutiny, and then let out a high-pitched squeal.

“Marinette, you’ve got to tell me everything!”

“It’s nothing really exciting, promise. A man was passing by and happened to hear me, so he came over and hit Nathaniel over the head and knocked him out before he got too far. And then the gentleman in question was kind enough to walk me back to where I felt safe.”

Just as with Tikki, Marinette tried to be as vague as possible, but she knew that unlike her nurse, the gossip in Alya wouldn’t be content with her equivocation for long. She couldn’t place why she wanted to keep Chat Noir to herself as much as possible, but something in her stomach told her it would be better that way. Unfortunately, she was sure Alya wouldn’t let her keep such a little tidbit of gossip to herself. Sure enough, the light in Alya’s eyes didn’t fade, but instead brightened to an intense fire.

“Marinette, spill! What was it like to be rescued by a handsome stranger?”

Marinette felt her heart beat fast and her face go an even darker shade of pink as she laughed uncomfortably and managed to get out

“H-handsome? Why would you think that?”

Alya just put a hand on her hip and looked at her with a note of condescension in her eyes before saying

“You aren’t going to convince me you’re going pink over an old sailor with bad teeth. Now spill! What he was like!”

Marinette shook her head and said quickly

“It’s not important, Als. And besides, I should get going - Lila’s waiting on me, so I can’t stay long.”

“Where do you need to go? We’ll go together - I want to hear more about this mystery man - do you think you’d be able to pick him out in a crowd like this?”

Marinette led the way to the various shops, changing the subject and trying to distract her friend with topics that clearly didn’t interest her, being very careful to keep well away from the story of her rescue or any mention of her rescuer. Somehow, she found this more difficult than she’d expected - she noticed after a few streets that she was searching every shadow, half expecting to see his black cloak, blond hair, and cheeky grin. Then she mentally chastised herself. 

“You were around him for two hours!” she told herself, not hearing Alya’s latest tidbit of gossip. “You’d better get a grip on yourself.”

They were just finishing their shopping and Marinette was about to suggest they leave when they heard trumpets from the main square, a few hundred feet away. Alya’s eyes lit up at the prospect of more news, especially city news, and she pulled Marinette behind her, ignoring the clear discomfort her friend felt. Marinette tried to remove her friend’s grip, but before she could, Alya dropped her arm abruptly as they reached the outskirts of the crowd and saw a royal troubador standing on a raised platform and reading from an official-looking document.

“Hear ye, hear ye!” he proclaimed in a booming voice that clearly stated his intense disinterest. “His Royal Majesty, King Gabriel, has decreed a festival of masks in honor of the visiting Royalty, Queen Tomoe and her daughter, Princess Kagami. Every citizen of the country is invited to celebrate our upcoming alliance with our neighbors to the east with the Royal Festival, beginning one week from this evening, and lasting for three nights, the last of which will be a masked dance. Though there will be a private hosting at the palace, there will be no discrimination for the celebration and all work will be halted for the duration of the festival nights, for His Majesty wishes to all the kingdom to join him on this most joyous occasion.”

The troubadour finished his reading and rolled up the scroll, stepping down from his platform and apparently oblivious to the excited chaos his announcement had caused. Alya turned to Marinette and grabbed her hands with a cry of delight.

“A festival for the whole kingdom? I can’t believe it! It’s so exciting!”

Marinette wanted to rejoice with her friend, but she knew that Lila wouldn’t let her attend any such thing. Nonetheless, she enjoyed seeing her friend so animated, and so smiled right back with only a slight pang. Alya didn’t even protest as she was led out of the city once more and to the main bridge.

“-- and the food! If the palace is paying for it, I’m sure it will be the best money can buy!” she was saying - her tongue going a mile a minute. “And can you imagine what the princess will look like! Oh, she’ll be so radiant, and so will he I’m sure! I mean, can you imagine any engaged couple looking anything else?”

Marinette stopped in her tracks, her feet planted in the ground by that one word. 

“Engaged? Where are you getting that?”

Alya just laughed at her.

“I always forget you’re such a little innocent, Marinette! Don’t you realize? Prince Adrien and Princess Kagami are going to announce their betrothal at the festival. That's why the king’s putting it on, silly. It’s a big show to prove that the princess is going to be the new queen and to show her off to the kingdom. I wouldn’t want to be in that position - except for the being queen part, and marrying the prince! Could you imagine?”

Marinette’s heart sank so low it almost hit her knees.

“... I sure can.” she said in a low voice. Alya looked at her and suddenly sobered. 

“Oh… I forgot about that. You’ve got a thing for the prince, haven’t you?”

Marinette shook her head.

“It’s just a lot of daydreaming. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine.”

Alya seemed to take this without question and continued walking, monologuing about the various attractions that might be found at the festival, including but not limited to the food, the music, and the chance of meeting a handsome stranger. Marinette tried not to giggle at this, remembering Alya’s question about recognizing her “mystery man” in a crowd, but all in all, she wasn’t entirely sad to see her friend part ways from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers! I hope you're enjoying this - I promise, now we're really getting into the story and the characters. I really enjoyed writing and editing this chapter - I'm quite proud of my Alya characterization. As always, feel free to leave comments with constructive criticism or aspects you're enjoying, whether in the story or the writing. I'll post again next week!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains a trigger warning for domestic and emotional abuse. I have tried to address it as tactfully as possible without downplaying the reality of these real-life situations. If you wish to skip this section, you can begin reading at the large paragraph break, and if you would like, please feel free to PM me for an abbreviated synopsis of the section.

Marinette was utterly unsurprised to hear the topic of conversation as she waited table that evening. 

“I can’t believe it! The King’s own seal?” Lila was saying, looking at the formally-embossed letter in her hand. “And delivered straight to us by personal carrier? I mean, the king does know my family name, but I never expected anything quite so personal… Do you know what this means?”

Chloé looked as disinterested in this as in everything else, but Sabrina filled her well-established role and shook her head expectantly.

“It means that the royal family wants us to be a part of their happy occasion!” Lila said happily. “I mean, who could blame them? I did once save the prince from a runaway cart, so of course the king would remember little old me - and to think that my daughters are going to meet a prince!” 

Marinette turned away to hide her expression at that, remembering Alya’s predictions about the reason for the festival. But despite that, she was seriously irritated at Lila’s insistence that she knew the royal family, especially for such an outlandish reason as the one she had cited.

“I knew the royal family better than she ever has, and I didn’t even realize it until after they left!” she thought snidely, not noticing Lila’s eyes on her, cold and calculating.

“Marinette?”

Her attention was quickly drawn back to her stepmother, who was looking at her in that simpering, sweet way of hers that always preceded an outlandish request.

“Marinette, darling, you know money’s tight these days, correct?”

Marinette nodded, not knowing what was coming and not liking it one bit.

“Well, since that’s the case, I know you’ve got so much to do around the house, but do you think there’s any way you could piece together some clothes for the girls? I know it’s a lot to ask… but really, it’s not much. Just a gown for each? Good.”

Knowing it wouldn’t do any good to protest, Marinette nodded again - she really did enjoy sewing, and perhaps this would be a good way to prove to her stepsisters everything she did for them. If she was busy making things for them, the housework might suffer and it might make them think for themselves about Marinette’s role in the house. Perhaps, Marinette thought, they just needed a little bit of a push to help themselves!

Chloé, however, had other plans.

“Mother!” she pouted in protest. “I don’t want something made by a servant! We’ve always had DeVanily gowns, and if I’m going to meet a prince, I don’t want to be wearing something made out of reworked curtains!”

Lila looked condescendingly at her daughter.

“I understand that it’s beneath us, but we just don’t have the money right now! Between the repairs on the house, the funeral expenses and mourning gowns last year, the doctor’s visits and my poor health… it’s just too much. We’ll simply have to make due with whatever Marinette is able to cobble together. As much as it pains me, all we can do is hope Marinette’s sewing isn’t too abysmal and pray that no one asks who made the gowns - can you imagine having to say it was a servant?!”

Marinette clenched her jaw and balled her fists. Didn’t Lila know that she’d been sewing her own clothes for years? One of her favorite hobbies in childhood was designing dresses for herself and Alya. She’d sewn most of the linens in the house, created entire outfits, she’d even made herself and her father mourning clothes when her mother died, knowing that her father wouldn’t be emotionally capable of providing them himself. 

“My sewing is perfectly fine!” she said hotly, “And I am not a servant! At least I wasn’t until you all came into my house! So I’ll thank you not to treat me like one - unless you want everything on your gowns to be six inches too loose.” 

Lila locked eyes with Marinette, a warning expression in them as she rose to her feet. Marinette felt her heartbeat increase as she took a step back, realizing her mistake instantly and knowing what was coming. She hadn’t always been this submissive toward Lila, and she recognized the look on Lila’s face as the one she had held anytime someone crossed her. Sabrina gasped and clutched her own hands in fright, while Chloé just sighed and pursed her lips, as if her stepsister’s plight was nothing to her own happiness.

“Marinette, Marinette, Marinette… I thought we’d had done with this after the last little episode of disobedience?” Lila cooed, her face still wearing the expression that made Marinette’s blood run cold. “Tell me - do you still remember the terms of your father’s will?”

Marinette swallowed hard and nodded. Lila didn’t wait for her to speak, just continued walking toward her slowly, Marinette maintaining the distance between them as she walked backwards toward the edge of the room. 

“It was that I, as your father’s second wife, was to be given full control over all of his assets and possessions, including you, his beloved daughter, who are under my guardianship until the day of your marriage. Now, I know how much you loved your father, and you wouldn’t want to deny his dying wish, now would you?

Lila was almost on top of her now. Marinette tried not to trip over anything. Lila just kept coming nearer and nearer.

“And as your guardian, it is my responsibility to make sure you understand the authority of my guardianship.”

Marinette blinked hard, trying to get these terrible, terrible thoughts out of her head. Her brain was shutting down, her hands were shaking, her breath was coming out short and sharp. Lila just kept walking toward her, eyes still locked on hers.

“By any means necessary. And if that means drastic measures again, well… It’s only what your father would want, isn’t it?”

Marinette managed to keep her balance as her foot caught against the edge of the carpet. She felt desperately behind her for any way out, but she couldn’t escape Lila’s gaze. Her foot hit the wall behind her - she couldn’t go any further, and Lila still kept walking toward her. Marinette couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe. She felt lightheaded and seemed to see spots at the edge of her vision, but she wouldn’t allow herself to show this to Lila. If it was the last thing she did, she would remain standing. Lila might know of the nervousness Marinette felt, but never the abject terror.

“Now then. Are you quite clear on all of this, Marinette?” Lila said sweetly, her face only inches from her stepdaughter’s. Marinette nodded mutely, not speaking for fear of her voice shaking and allowing Lila more ammunition. Lila looked her dead in the eye and slapped her hard across the face, then turned and walked back to the table as if nothing at all had happened, saying brightly

“Well then, that’s all right. You’ll have to take their measurements, and of course the fabric will have to be approved by me - none of this slipshod cotton like you wear.”

“Mother, will we get to choose what the gowns look like ourselves?” Sabrina asked in a small voice, clearly trying to change the subject to something innocuous.

“Why of course, my angel. But it can’t be too difficult, or else Marinette won’t be able to finish it in time, what with all the housework she still has to do. The dust in the parlor is absolutely unspeakable! If anyone were to come into the house I’d die of shame!”

She turned to Marinette, just moving away from the wall for the first time.

“You will take care of all that for us, won’t you, Marinette?”

Marinette could only nod and stumble from the room. She felt rather than saw her path down to the kitchen and it took everything she had not to pass out against the tabletop. She managed to remain standing and fight off the black vision threatening her, but it wasn’t enough. She stumbled through the kitchen on shaking legs and opened the door to the tower stairs. It took all of her strength to keep walking up and not to collapse as she reached the second landing. Finally, after what seemed a thousand near misses, she reached the room that had been allotted to her by her stepmother. 

In reality, it was an attic which Marinette had cleared out to make room for a small bed and an even smaller dresser. But it was the one space in the house where Lila and the girls would never come. At any other time the possibility of Chloé traipsing up three flights of dust-covered stairs would have brought a smile to her face. But right now, she couldn’t think. She couldn’t. She stumbled forward and collapsed down onto the threadbare quilt lying on the bed, still shaking from Lila’s threats. She should have known. Lila hadn’t made more of a fuss about the jewelry theft - she should have known something more was coming. 

As she lay on her side shaking, her subconscious took charge. Just like every other time, she allowed her brain to wander, searching for something - anything - to make her forget the encounter downstairs.

She felt herself mentally traveling to another time, reliving her own memories, yet not quite as they had happened. She was eight years old again. She was lying sprawled on the ground as she saw her father running over to pick her up.

“What happened, Marinette? Did you fall out of the tree?”

Young Marinette nodded, tears falling down her cheeks. Her father wiped them off gently and then lifted the tiny girl in his arms.

“I’ve got you. Why don’t we go on in and see if we can’t patch it up?”

Young Marinette smiled through her tears at her father, strong and brave, protective and kind. She felt nothing but safety in his arms as she wrapped her own around his neck and held on as if he was the only thing that mattered in life.

Now the scene was being reworked in her mind, and all of a sudden she was on the ground beneath a different tree, again as if she’d just fallen. Her mother this time was the one to find her, running over and kneeling at her side with a huffing breath - Marinette suddenly realized just how frail her mother had become.

“Silly girl! Where did you hurt yourself?”

Young Marinette pointed to her leg, where a long scratch could be seen, and held out her hand, also wounded from the fall. Her mother, though weak, smiled and pulled an embroidered handkerchief out of her pocket. She deftly wrapped it around the injured hand, then helped Young Marinette to her feet and lead her toward the house once more. 

Again the scene reset. Young Marinette was again on the ground, below yet another tree, winded by impact this time and just getting her breath, when she suddenly heard footsteps from the other direction. Instead of looking toward the house, she turned her head to see a boy with blond hair running toward her through the forest.

“Ladybug? Is that you?”

Young Marinette immediately pulled herself up from the ground as the boy reached her, running to throw her arms around him despite the scratches on her hands.

“Chaton? Chaton! You’re back! What are you doing here!?” 

“I’m playing a hiding game with my tutor and I saw you fall. What are you doing here?”

She smiled sunnily at him.

“We moved here, silly! We’re living here now!”

Chaton looked like he would say something else, but Marinette had finally removed her hands from his and they both noticed the smearing of blood from her scraped palms. Chaton’s eyes lit up and he said excitedly

“Guess what!?”

Marinette shook her head, still smiling at him. She smiled even wider as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out to her to use against her bleeding hand. “You still have it!”

He grinned right back at her.

“Of course I do! It’s the first gift you ever gave me - and it’s so pretty. I’m so glad I got to see you! You’ll never believe it - I made a friend back at home! His name’s Nino, and he’s so cool! His dad’s a knight, and he says maybe I can train with him someday when I’m older! Plagg said I don’t need to know how to be like him, but what does he know? He just wants me to study all kinds of boring stuff like history and--”

Young Marinette interrupted him with a hug.

“I thought I’d never see you again! I’m glad you have a friend, but I thought you’d forgotten about me!”

The look of shock on Chaton’s face was more than enough to reassure the little girl, and she grabbed his hand again.

“Can I meet your new friend?”

Chaton shook his head.

“He’s still at home. He couldn’t come with me today. I’m only here because I had to meet some stupid girl my Dad still wants me to get along with. This was Plagg’s reward for me not being rude to her”

The tone of voice he used made her eyes widen, partly in shock and partly in anger.

“Hey! I’m a girl, and you don’t talk that way about me!”

Chaton stuck out his tongue at her just like he always used to do.

“Of course I don’t, silly, you’re my friend! But my dad wants me to be nice to this girl I don’t like, just because she’s from another country.”

Young Marinette’s eyes lit up.

“Another country! Really! Does she speak another language? Can I meet her?”

Chaton was about to answer when the two heard a voice coming from the house.

“Marinette? Where are you? It’s time to come in for lunch.”

Marinette’s eyes grew wide and she quickly pushed Chaton to the other side of the tree trunk and watched him start climbing, hoping he’d make it far enough up that Tikki wouldn’t see him.

“Can’t I just stay out for five more minutes?” she called behind her, voice carefully nonchalant. Tikki walked over the crest of the hill to her, long red hair whipping around her as she shook her head.

“You’ve been playing long enough. You need to come in and have lunch, and then work on that embroidery for your Papa’s gift. It’s almost done, isn’t it?”

Marinette was trapped between two options. First, she could go with Tikki and leave Chaton - again - and never find out whether she could meet this girl from another country, or even whether she would ever see him again. Second, she could refuse and possibly give up the secret of her friend’s visit. She was trying to think of a way to put off her nurse when there was a noise from up the tree. Marinette couldn’t help an involuntary gasp and glance up, which prompted Tikki also to move forward and peer up into the tree. Then she looked down at Marinette and gave a little smile.

“Ah. I see.”

She leaned down and spoke up toward the top of the tree.

“Would you like to come down and have lunch with us?”

Marinette was about to launch into an explanation involving a baby squirrel to explain the noise when she heard a small voice from above her say 

“Yes please, Ma’am.”

Chaton climbed down from the tree and stood next to Marinette, both of them staring sheepishly up at the nurse. Marinette didn’t know what they’d done, but something told her they might be in trouble for hiding something as important as a friendship. Tikki looked sternly at them for a moment, then started to laugh. But not in a nasty I-caught-you way. Rather, it was in a kind, let’s-play-a-game way. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you.” she said to Chaton. “What would you like me to call you - since I assume Marinette still doesn’t know your real name?”

Chaton opened his mouth to reply. But before he could, a moment of deja-vu struck. From the trees, a male voice called out

“Where on earth are you? ADRIEN!”

Chaton’s eyes widened just like the first day, and he turned in the direction of the voice. Then he turned back to Tikki, who simply smiled at him and called out in a loud voice

“He’s over here!”

Chaton grinned at Marinette as a man in a white shirt and black vest jogged through the forest toward them. 

“Adrien! I had to put off the dragon for you again - you can’t keep doing this to me, kid, you’re putting years on me! You can’t go running off like that! How’d you even get all the way out here, anyway?” He came to a stop by the group, panting slightly, and looked down at Marinette. “Nice to see you again, young lady. And to officially meet you. Who’s your friend, kid?”

Marinette gaped up at the man, who seemed to be perhaps as old as Tikki - which is to say, not very - and saw a kind face with messy black hair, green eyes and a pronounced nose. He was grinning down quite a way at her and her friend - he was remarkably tall, particularly for a little girl just over four feet. Chaton grabbed Marinette’s hand, pulling her toward the newcomer with a grin.

“This is my friend Ladybug, Plagg! I didn’t know, but she lives here now! She and I used to play together all the time when we lived in the manor house and she lived next door! Ladybug, this is my tutor Plagg.”

The man squatted down and took the hand Marinette held out, shaking it gravely, then he stood and turned to Tikki.

“Good to see you again, Tikki. How are you holding up with the little bug?”

Tikki laughed.

“Nice to see you too, Plagg. As you can see, the bug is just about as independant and sweet as ever. And how are you doing with your kitten?”

Chaton’s tutor ruffled his hair fondly.

“Oh, about the same. This is the third time the rascal’s tried to get away from me in the past month - and I can’t say I’m surprised. But did you really have to sneak away quite so elaborately? And how’d you even get out here, anyway? Honestly, Adrien, you’re driving me to an aneurysm!”

Marinette grinned at her friend.

“So that’s your name! Adrien?”

The boy glared up at the man at his side, muttering

“She wasn’t supposed to know that! Now she’ll figure it out!”

“I think it’s about time you told her anyway, kid. She’s got a right to know.”

Chaton still looked doubtful.

“But I don’t know if she’ll still want to play with me when she knows!” he said, his voice low and sad. “Even Nino doesn’t play with me the same way.”

Marinette saw her duty clear in front of her. She resolutely set her hand on her hip in an imitation of Tikki’s stern demeanor, but she couldn’t hold up the act for long.”

“It’s not fair for one of us to know the other's name and not the other way around. It wouldn't be...” She looked up at Tikki for confirmation as she said “Appropriate.”

Tikki nodded gravely, and Marinette allowed herself to grin broadly at her friend as she continued in her usual tone. “Of course I’ll still play with you, Chaton! We have to play Rescue today, and I can show you where the best tree for climbing is! And… you don’t have to tell me what your name is, but I really do want to know.” 

Chaton looked up at his tutor, then at Tikki, then lastly at Marinette. Then he gave a little smile and bowed, saying in his most formal tones:

“Good afternoon, miss. My name is Prince Adrien - it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Might I have the honor of your name?”

Marinette gasped and looked up in astonishment at Tikki, then giggled and dropped a slightly wobbly curtsy and rather inexpert curtsy as she held her hand out and responded in kind.

“How do you do, Prince Adrien-Chaton? My name is Marinette-Ladybug - pleased to meet you.”

Adrien-Chaton took her hand and held it nicely, saying

“A pleasure, Princess Marinette-Ladybug.” 

They tried very hard to keep straight faces, but it was no use, and the two of them burst into laughter. The adults looked softly down at them, then at each other. Something speechless passed between them, and Chaton’s tutor, Plagg, nodded. Then he reached down and ruffled the boy’s hair once more.

“I think I’ll be able to explain things to the palace, kid.” he said with a fond smile. “Why don’t you stick around here for a while? Play and be a normal kid for an afternoon - I’ll come get you before the princess shows up.”

Chaton’s face lit up even more and he turned to hug his tutor tightly, but Marinette’s mind had caught on one thing in particular.

“You’re meeting a real live princess! Really, Chaton? I mean, Adrien?”

“I met her last summer.” Adrien-Chaton replied in an annoyed tone. “She’s boring. She’s no fun at all! I’d rather have you as a princess - we could have so much fun!”

For some reason, this made Marinette look down at her feet in disappointment.

“I couldn’t be a princess, I’m too clumsy, and I don’t look like one. Is the princess you’re seeing later beautiful?”

Chaton noticed his friend’s change in attitude and quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.

“You’d make a great princess! You’re so nice and everybody likes you. And even princesses are clumsy sometimes. Did you know there was once a princess who tripped down a whole flight of stairs at a formal party? And my great-uncle was a prince who broke his leg because he got his foot caught while he was getting down from his horse and it started to move. And even my Mama! The first time she met one of my Dad’s friends, she curtsied and when she came up, she smacked him in the nose!”

Marinette couldn’t help her giggles. She noticed that the tutor had turned and walked away, leaving her, Chaton, and Tikki in the woods. She pulled on her friend’s hand and led him toward the house. 

“C’mon, let’s go get lunch! Tikki, are there cookies today?”

Tikki laughed, nodded, and asked

“Do you want me to bring you two a picnic?”

“Yes!” the two chorused, and Tikki smiled and began to walk toward the house, calling out the age-old warning to “be careful”. Marientte looked at her friend, then repeated a question she hadn’t gotten an answer to.

“Is the princess you’re meeting today beautiful? Where’s she from?” 

Chaton stuck out his tongue again at the thought of her.

“She’s pretty enough, I guess, but she’s so boring. She doesn't even smile! All she does is sit and sew and play the piano and boring stuff like that.”

Marinette bit her lip. For some reason, she didn’t want to mention that one of her favorite hobbies was sewing. Chaton’s voice of disdain was something she didn’t like, and for some reason, hearing him talk about another girl made her feel funny.

“Chaton, do you think you’ll ever not be friends with me?”

He looked at her with an expression of utter shock and hurt

“Of course not! I might have to be friends with lots of people just because, but I’ll always be your friend, and I’ll always be there for you! For always and forever, okay?”

He held out his pinky to her, and she hooked hers around it and shook it.

“Right. For always and forever. But why do you have to be friends with someone you don’t want to?”

“Because her Mom and my Dad always have to talk in private, and we’re about the same age, so I guess they just expect it. I get that a lot.”

“Have to play with people you don’t like?” Marinette asked, confused.

“No, people expect things from me because I’m a prince. So I can’t do things like climb trees and play pretend with other people. Hey, do you want to play Rescue before lunch?”

Young Marinette nodded enthusiastically, pulling her friend farther into her own life and away from his. 

Lying in her attic bedroom, Marinette’s eyes were closed and filled with tears, yet not a single sob came out. She wasn’t asleep, but she wasn’t awake, either. She was lost in a beautiful fantasy existence where everything was up to her. Everything could be changed by her. And everything she’d ever wanted could come into existence within her mind. And yet, her subconscious knew, it wouldn't last. No matter how beautiful the memory, it was always just a memory.

And that would never change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there we have it. Our first real glimpse of Lila the villain, another scene with Chaton, and a reveal - of a sort! Again, I hope that I did justice to the real-life tragedies of abuse, despite having no knowledge other than from textbooks, without making it too distressing for you, my readers. Mental health is a subject I am deeply, deeply passionate about, and I am so very worried about my reader's thoughts and emotions on the first scene.   
> As always, feel free to leave a review or PM me with questions, comments, or constructive criticism.


	10. Chapter 10

Three days. Three long days of trying to entertain someone who didn’t show any emotion, knowing that if he didn’t do something, she would be announced as his fiance in less than a week. Adrien was sick and tired of trying to keep the conversation going with Princess Kagami, not to mention the little matter of discussing their “mutually beneficial alliance”, as his father had put it. Not that either of them were in any doubt of what that meant. 

And apparently, she didn’t care. 

“Ahem.” 

Adrien cleared his throat - again. Kagami looked up at him from the book she was holding - Improving Essays, apparently.

“Would you like to walk in the gardens?” Adrien said quickly, trying to keep his voice from showing his desperation. The gardens at this time of day would be frequented by many of the castle inhabitants, and though he didn’t want to encourage the gossip about a possible alliance, it was better than trying to entertain her in an empty room. 

Again. 

“That sounds lovely.” said the visiting princess flatly, rising to her feet, her burgundy skirt falling gracefully around her feet. Adrien offered his arm out of a feeling of obligation rather than kindness, and they walked silently together out of the room and through the halls to the main doors. When they had finally come out into a beautiful spring day, Adrien’s mood began to lift - and at the same time to fall even further. While he loved these days, they always reminded him of his mother. Her favorite days had been just like this - the sun shining in the sky, a few clouds rolling across it occasionally, the breeze bringing with it a hint of summer along with the scents of flowers from the garden. 

Not only that, but her death had come on a day just like this, too. 

Adrien wondered if he could possibly find an excuse at some point to slip away and visit the little gazebo his mother had commissioned for herself. Ever since Plagg’s outburst in the library a few days before, he hadn’t had a moment to himself. If he wasn’t entertaining the princess, Plagg was there with him - watching him from afar, even. If he didn’t know better, Adrien would have thought that Plagg was keeping an eye on him at all times. Did his tutor really think he was completely idiotic? Of course there was a part of him that wanted desperately to get out and lose his responsibilities, but the sensible part of him - which wasn’t as insignificant as Plagg seemed to think - wouldn’t let him. It just wasn’t safe to risk it without careful planning - because if the king ever found out about his son’s vigilante activity, the consequences would be unimaginable for everyone concerned. 

As they entered the garden, Adrien began to gently steer his companion toward a spot where he knew there would be a crowd. If he could introduce the princess to other people and get her into a conversation, she might not notice if he slipped away. He’d come up with an excuse some other time - maybe even admit a little bit of the truth if he had to. She deserved that much, right?

“Where are we going?” asked the girl on his arm, looking interestedly at the flowers around them. He was surprised by this as he looked down at her - she was much shorter than he - and answered

“The center of the garden isn’t far, and I personally think it’s one of the best spots.”

She didn’t answer, merely nodding and continuing to study the flowers. Adrien felt bad for her - really, this wasn’t fair to either of them. True, he had shown a little bit of interest in her years ago, but now they were both being thrust into this awkward situation. He knew it wasn’t Kagami’s fault in the slightest, that she was just as powerless as he was to do anything about it, but it did irritate him that she didn’t seem to even be concerned about the problem at all. 

“Maybe she’s just too shy to talk about it with me.” the kindhearted side of his mind said reasonably.

“Or maybe this is just who she is, and I’ll have to live with it for the rest of my life, because I was too much of a coward to do anything about it.” said the nasty voice in the back of his head - which had come much more front and center in the past few days.

They reached the center of the garden and saw a large open space where all of the paths converged from different directions, and in the center, a large marble pavilion. Adrien saw with relief that there was a group not far from them with people he knew. Nino looked up and waved with a grin as Adrien steered Kagami toward them. Rose smiled kindly as they approached and reached out to take the princess by the hand, pulling them into the group.

“How are you, your highness? I hope everything is going well? What do you think of the gardens?”

Something in Kagami had seemed to tense up as Rose grabbed her, but she responded with practiced calm

“The gardens are lovely. I especially like the splashes of color. Our gardens back home aren’t nearly so colorful - it’s mostly trees and shrubs instead of flowers.”

Rose’s cheerful attitude was as infectious as always, and her smile lit up her face even brighter as she said

“Aren’t they beautiful? I just love them, too. Especially the crocuses - but they’re not out anymore. They’ve gone back into hiding until next year. But that’s alright - the way the garden is arranged, we’ll have flowers all year until the first snow!”

Kagami looked slightly surprised - or rather, she cocked her head slightly, her face staying perfectly composed. 

“Really? I didn’t know there were flowers that bloomed so late in the year that you could see them in the fall.”

Adrien nodded with a fond look on his face.

“My mother loved flowers, so the gardeners found whatever kinds they could that would bloom year round.”

“It’s really nice to be able to walk around here and still see flowers.” Alix added. “Even in the snow. The gardeners find a way to draw flower designs in the snow - it’s really interesting how they do it, too!”

Nino caught Adrien’s eye and the two of them moved a few steps away. Adrien leaned toward his friend and asked

“I’m really sorry to ask it, but do you think you can make sure the princess gets back okay? It seems like I’ve been around her pretty much nonstop for three and a half days, and I… I guess I’m a little overwhelmed by everything.”

Nino’s eyes were full of sympathy. 

“You got it, my man. Go on. Do you need me to cover for you with Nathalie if she asks?”

Adrien was about to answer when he saw a familiar form on the other side of the garden. He sighed slightly to himself but answered Nino

“No, that’s fine. I think Plagg’s already taking care of it.”

Nino grinned at him and punched him playfully on the shoulder before going back to the group. Adrien stepped down another path, looking over his shoulder as he did so. As he expected, Plagg was still within eyesight - along with another young man who also seemed to be staring at him. Adrien almost turned around again, but decided he couldn’t handle any more smalltalk and began to make his way through the garden. 

As always, he enjoying the feeling of being alone. It wasn’t the same feeling he got as Chat Noir, of course, but it was something. He wandered the paths, enjoying the scents of the different flowers and admiring the blossoms, plucking the most beautiful and holding them gently, like his mother had taught him, until he finally reached his destination - a small wooden structure with a slatted roof, decorated with several chairs and a low table with an empty vase. They were slightly worse for wear from being outside, but they weren’t covered in dust. 

Adrien smiled sadly as he sat down on one of the chairs. He knew why gazebo was so spotless whenever he came - everyone knew that this was Queen Emilie’s favorite spot, and the people had loved her dearly. This was someone’s way of honoring her memory, he supposed, and he appreciated their efforts. He wished he knew who it was, but there was never anything left behind to tell him, so he merely said a silent thank you to the unknown person and let his thoughts wander. 

He knew he shouldn’t be so resentful of what his father was asking of him. He’d known from the time he was old enough to understand that he’d be marrying for the kingdom, but he’d hoped for at least a semblance of control over the decision. He hadn’t thought he cared much for “love”, but now he wasn’t so sure. He might not be looking for a soulmate, but he was at least hoping for someone he enjoyed being around. Someone who could hold a conversation with him easily. And maybe, just maybe, someone he could trust and open up to. For so many years, he’d been deprived of affection - everyone in the palace, even Nino, saw him as the prince and very little else. Even Plagg’s affection wasn’t quite the same as what he’d had as a child.

And on that depressing note, he began to sort through the flowers in his hand. A small pink bloom, a yellow carnation, a purple iris, a white flower he didn’t know the name of, and even a rose - not quite a bud, but not quite a full bloom either. His eyes stayed on the red petals as he allowed thoughts he’d pushed away from his conscious mind for the last three days to finally enter. He’d tried to ignore any musings about Marinette, but as he looked at the rose, he allowed himself to remember that night. He wondered if she was alright, what she thought of the upcoming festival - another thing he’d been trying to forget - and whether her stepmother had been angry with her for getting back in during the night. 

He wondered what her life had been like before the death of her parents, whether she’d been back to their graves since then, who exactly it was she had been delivering the jewels to, whether she’d been able to go back to the shop during the day, and why she’d said she couldn’t. 

He remembered her dark hair, her blue eyes, and her smile. The smile that was open and confiding, determined and slightly saucy sometimes, even her sad smile that had pulled on his own heartstrings because he recognized it as the one he’d worn for months after his mother had passed. The smile that tried to show the world that all was well, that you weren’t slowly being crushed by the weight of the world.

Suddenly, a crazy idea entered his head - or perhaps it had always been there, ever since he got back from seeing her the first time. He looked down at the rose in his hand, then smiled a little and stood up. He set the other flowers in the vase, knowing that the unknown tender of the gazebo would fill it with water soon enough, and he held the rose in his hand as he walked back to the palace. 

He didn’t meet anyone on his way, but he was still cautious as he slipped in a side door and up a back flight of stairs. He knew that no one would stop him but Nathalie or Plagg, but he didn’t want word to get back to them that he was sneaking around - and he hoped he could hide the flower away before anyone saw it and began to gossip. 

Apparently, luck was on his side. Or at least it was until he entered his room and saw Plagg sitting on his chair. Adrien didn’t even try to hide the flower, knowing that Plagg had probably seen the whole thing and not caring. He looked around for a container of some kind, waiting for his tutor to make the first comment.

He didn’t have to wait long - and he wasn’t surprised by the comment, either.

“You know, kid, this isn’t a good idea.”

Adrien set the rose in a small cup by his bedside and turned to the other man.

“And I suppose you know what my idea is?”

Plagg gave a grin, something that did surprise his pupil.

“Sure I do! You’ve been out of it for three days, right after that meeting with a pretty girl, and all of a sudden you’re sneaking around with a flower that isn’t going to the visiting princess in the garden? You’re gonna go out tonight and find her to give her a flower, right?”

Adrien’s face was getting hot, but he stared at his tutor belierantly.

“So what if I am? Is there anything wrong with wanting to make sure that everyone in my kingdom is safe and happy?”

Plagg leaned back in the chair and sighed.

“And you’re probably expecting me to try to stop you, right?”

Adrien blinked in confusion.

“Excuse me?”

Plagg looked at him seriously, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands folded.  
“I get it. I was too harsh the other day, and you’re expecting that again. So I’m going to get this out in the open: I don’t think you’re wrong.”

Adrien’s jaw dropped and he sat down on the bed, staring at his tutor in astonishment. Plagg continued.

“You said that you don’t want to settle down with someone you don’t have feelings for. I get that. And I also have been able to see over the past three days that you’re not happy with the princess. I still think you’re making a mistake in getting too close to this girl right away, but you’re not a child anymore, and I can’t forbid you to go. So I think you have two choices. The first is that you can go out tonight and tell that girl that you’re glad she’s safe, and then leave her forever and come back here to marry the princess because it would give an added layer of security to the kingdom. 

He noticed the look on Adrien’s face and grinned wickedly.

“Or, you can talk to the princess and tell her that there’s been a mistake and you’d like to break it off. No one officially knows about the plan for you two except the high-up muckety mucks, so it’s not like you'll be destroying all kinds of state agreements, just making relations with her kingdom a little strained. And if all goes well and you figure this out, you can smooth things over and create that alliance without the marriage being necessary, leaving you open to go and talk to the pretty girl from the bridge, find out who she is and where you stand with her.”

Adrien was still staring at his tutor, but he closed his mouth at that. Plagg kept going.

“However, I’d recommend that you first make sure she doesn’t have a nice village boy walking her home every night you’re not there.”

Adrien’s brain was reeling, but he regained control of it with an effort, grinning up at Plagg as he jumped up. 

“I knew you’d see it my way. Thanks, Plagg!”

“Woah, there, kitten. I need you to listen to me for a second.”

Adrien looked at his tutor, who had risen as well.

“Like I said, I can’t stop you. And I’m not going to try, because you’re a good kid and you’re a smart kid. And I trust that you’ll do the right thing in the end. But I’m warning you now about all of this. If you’re going to go back to this girl, know that you’ll be in for some tough decisions. You know she can’t know anything about you, right?”

Adrien waved his tutor off before turning back and settling the rose more gently into the cup. His tutor snorted.

“Sheesh, you’ve got it bad, kid. And don’t forget - you’re going to have to talk to your father about this, too. Even if the princess agrees to call it off, you’re still going to be the one to tell him about it. Are you prepared for that?”

Adrien froze where he was. He hadn’t thought about that little detail. And he wasn’t sure that there was any chance of making his father see it his way. He felt something in the pit of his stomach sinking, but decided that he’d have to wait and see exactly what the night brought before thinking about that obstacle. Because no matter what else might happen, Chat Noir would be making a visit that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating over the weekend - I don’t really have an excuse, and I feel terrible. Also, this chapter is not my favorite, I don’t really feel like it turned out as well as it could have no matter how much I edit, but the next chapter makes up for it.   
> Also, in case you didn’t know, I have the whole story written at this point and I’m just posting it chapter by chapter, so once we get further into the story and we have a lot of chapters all taking place at the same time, I’ll be posting them closer together. But we’ll get there soon enough! In the meantime, I love hearing from all of you, it makes my day every time, and I’d love to discuss the story and what you think of it!


	11. Chapter 11

Marinette swore under her breath as the candle flickered again, causing her to lose her thread. She had been sewing for two hours, but the skirts were finally almost done. That only left the bodices, the sleeves, the trim, the embellishments, and three masks. 

And only four more days to do it all. 

She held the needle up to the light and tried to thread it, but the dark purple thread was too difficult to see. She glanced at the candle and realized that it was nearly gone, sitting in a pool of its own wax in the holder. She carefully set the needle down in her box - it wouldn’t do her any good to step on it by accident - and picking up the guttering candle, she slipped out the door and down the stairs to the kitchen in search of a fresh one. If she worked hard, she’d be able to finish the sleeves and bodice of the first dress tonight and still get a few hours of sleep.

At least Sabrina had chosen a simple dress, she thought - an overskirt and bodice of purple with aqua trimming. It didn’t in the slightest compliment her coloring, but it wasn’t Marinette’s place to mention it, especially since Sabrina had particularly chosen a dress because of the simplicity of it. Whatever Marinette had to say against her stepfamily, there was very little she had against Sabrina, and she had tried to show it with a grateful smile. 

Chloé, on the other hand, had chosen an overwhelmingly opulent gown regardless of the work it would take. Marinette had taken one look at it and almost groaned out loud. It was long and layered, with several yards worth of lace to be sewn on at various points, and with a difficult neckline and waist. Chloé had also insisted that her gown be made of gold cloth, something that was both flashy and thin, so each layer was actually two layers stitched together. With the lace, rosettes, and beading, Marinette was sure that her stepsister’s peacock plumage would certainly catch some eyes. Just probably not the eyes she hoped for. 

Because Chloé had somehow come to the conclusion that the festival was being held for the prince to meet eligible young ladies, and Chloé clearly considered herself eminently eligible. Marinette had decided not to reply to this conversation snippet with Alya’s assumption that the festival was rather intended to celebrate the prince’s engagement. 

Marinette reached the dark kitchen and searched for a replacement candle. When she found it, she quickly lit it and carried it back up to the tower room. She was already yawning, but the chiming of the grandfather clock in the hall told her it was still only a quarter to eleven. She could most likely still work for almost three hours and still get enough sleep before the morning chores. She’d finish the bodice and sleeves quickly, and perhaps she’d spend some time working on her own project - the secret project that she only allowed herself a sliver of hope for. 

She slipped back into her room and shut the door quietly - not that there was any need. The other bedrooms were completely on the other side of the house and down two flights of stairs, but it was better to be cautious.

She set the candle on the dresser and reached into her box for the needle and thread, pulling the last two pieces of the purple skirt toward her with the other hand. She hummed softly to herself as she began sewing again, and she didn’t hear anything else. 

That is, until a loud thump and a sound of pain echoed from outside. Marinette froze, her humming stopping abruptly, then quickly rose to her feet and held the needle in front of her like a weapon. Then she hid the candle to shield its light and silently stepped toward the window, wondering who on earth was out there. She stood against the wall next to it and held her breath as she heard a rustling from outside, realizing that whoever it was was climbing the ivy below her. She couldn’t think what kind of burglar would be trying to get into the tower instead of breaking in through a window on the ground floor--

Suddenly, a crazy idea came into her head. Hardly daring to hope that she was right, she carefully raised herself onto tiptoe and peeked over the windowsill. She saw nothing but a moving figure in black with blond hair, his black cloak blowing out behind him slightly in the wind, but it was enough. She called out softly over the windowsill

“Chat Noir? Is that you?”

He looked up, and Marinette recognized him instantly. She stuck her head out of the window.

“What are you doing here?” she said softly. He grinned at her.

“Oh, just climbing up walls for the fun of it. And ensuring that the wicked stepmother hadn’t deprived you of all human company. May I come in? I guess I could stay here on the wall all night, but it’s actually rather difficult.”

His face held such a look of overblown sarcasm that Marinette laughed and nodded. 

“Do you want any help?”

“No thank you, Princess. I’m quite alright. Just takes a little bit of skill to get up to you - but what kind of knight protector would I be if I couldn’t do even this?”

Marinette continued laughing as she pulled her head in and uncovered the candle again, filling the room with more light. In a few moments, a gloved hand reached over the sill and Chat Noir’s face appeared. 

“Good evening, Princess.”

She swept him a mock curtsy as she said

“Good evening, kind sir. And what a lovely evening it is, in fact.”

He grinned at her as he pulled himself onto the sill, his legs still dangling out of the window as he sat there and said

“Certainly a lovely night for a visit. May I enter?”

Marinette nodded and began to gather the fabrics scattered around the floor as he swung his legs up and into the room. Then he bent down and picked up a swatch of fabric. 

“What’s all this?”

Marinette took it out of his hands and set it with the rest of the fabrics in a dresser drawer. Then she reached for the nearly-finished skirt and began to sew it once more.

“My stepsisters wanted new gowns for the festival, and my stepmother wanted to save money. This was the compromise.”

Chat Noir looked at the skirt in her lap, at the gold skirt draped across the chair, then back at her.

“Well, I was going to ask if you had gotten in trouble for sneaking out the other night, but I guess this answers my question. You have to do all this?”

Marinette’s laugh was forced, but still there.

“Actually… This is more like recreation for me. I don’t mind sewing at all. And to answer your question… yeah, I guess I did get in trouble, but it’s not a big deal. Seriously. It’s okay.”

Chat Noir looked at her funny, but didn’t push the question, instead asking

“How long have you been working at this? What, did they decide on the dresses the day the festival was announced?”

“I wish. I only got the fabric today. This is all I’ve been able to do since this afternoon, so I still have to do some work on the bodices tonight.”

He stared at the skirt she was finishing, and the other on the chair, then back at her with astonishment. She smiled at him, then cocked her head and looked at him with a quizzical expression.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see you again, but… what are you doing here? Why did you come back?”

“I told you,” he said, leaning back against the windowsill, “I came to make sure you were alright. I try to do what I can to make sure everyone in the kingdom is happy and safe. And since you were clearly not liked by your stepmother, I wanted to make sure everything was still safe. I’m sorry about the extra work, and I wish I could help.”

Marinette’s smile of gratitude made his breath catch. 

“Thanks, Chat, but this is really a one-person job. Not to mention that if there’s any mistakes, Lila will have my head. So probably best to let me do it.”

Chat nodded and watched her as she set her needles back into the box and pulled a roll of purple fabric out of a drawer, measuring and marking it with care on the floor. He was silent as she pulled a small set of scissors from the box and began to cut with precision, her back to him so that the light from the candle would show the fabric best. When she had finally finished, he decided to initiate conversation again.

“Princess, if you don’t mind my asking, why do you stay here if you don’t like it?”

From her sudden stiffening, he realized he’d struck a nerve he hadn’t intended to, and he quickly added

“You don’t have to say anything, honest! I’m just a bit curious, but it’s your business.”

Marinette’s eyes were haunted as she turned back to him and sat down a few feet away, her back against her bed frame. He sat down on her floor, just out of arm’s reach from her work. 

“It’s… a long story. But I have a good reason.”

Chat let the subject drop, changing it to another one that had been bothering him.

“Sorry, Princess. If you don’t want to talk about it, why don’t you tell me exactly who that guy from the bridge was the other night? All I got out of you then was that he was a jerk who couldn’t take no for an answer…”

Marinette’s expression lifted just slightly - a fact that made Chat Noir very concerned. If attempted assault was a less heavy topic than her home life, there must be something very bad going on in this house. But it wasn’t something he could force out of her, and he wouldn’t want to put her through it.

“Nathaniel? He’s an old acquaintance of mine. He and I are about the same age, so when we were younger we sometimes played together. Nathaniel’s such a quiet guy most of the time, but sometimes he just gets obsessive over things - like his art. A few years ago, he decided that one of the old trees a couple of miles away was the perfect thing to create his masterpiece, and so every day, rain or shine, he would tote his supplies up the hill and just sit there. I swear, he didn’t actually do any painting most days, he just would stare at that tree! I guess he set his sight on me recently - I noticed that he was always so attentive when we’d meet, but we didn’t see each other too often and I assumed he’d get over it. Apparently I underestimated him. And I don’t think he was entirely sober the other night. Thank you again, by the way.”

Chat Noir didn’t blame her for her sad tone. He decided to steer the conversation away from that topic, too, and into something slightly safer and less emotionally charged. 

“You said you’re about the same age. How old are you, anyway?”

She gave him a look of mock offence.

“My good sir, haven’t you ever heard that it’s rude to ask a lady’s age?”

He grinned right back at her, eyes twinkling.

“I’m just a stray kitty, where would I have learned that?”

Marinette laughed again, re-threading the needle as she did so.

“Stray kitty, my foot. I know what low-class sounds like, and you’re not it. If you want my opinion, you’re at least upper-middle class.”

He saw his opportunity and seized it.

“How about this, Princess? One fact each - you can either ask me or I’ll tell you something, and vice versa. Seem fair?”

She looked at him hard for a moment, not angrily but rather searchingly, as if she was weighing her options, then nodded.

“But we have the choice to answer or not. And for heaven’s sake, don’t tell me anything about who you really are. I mean, what would happen if I accidentally let it slip that a wealthy merchant’s son - or whoever you are - goes around every night wearing a mask. Why do you do it, anyway?”

He smiled at her.

“Is that your first question?”

“No! And besides, didn’t you ask me one first?”

“True. If you’re willing to indulge a rude cat, I’d be interested to hear.”

Marinette set the fabric down and turned to face him head on.

“How old am I? I’m eighteen.”

He smirked.

“Are you telling me that a lovely young woman like you, clearly ready for love, doesn’t have any suitors at all?”

Marinette returned the smirk as she flicked a cast-off scrap of thread at him.

“Only one question per turn, Kitty. But for your information, I am currently without gentleman callers - except for the ones who climb up to my window, apparently. How about you? You’ll have to answer two for me, too.”

“More than happy to oblige.”

“Alright. I want the answers to those two questions from you.”

Chat Noir gulped. This would easily be dangerous territory, but didn’t this mean that Marinette was at least interested in whether he was taken?

Ah, well. Bite the bullet and equivocate, just like always.

“I’ve just turned nineteen. And currently I’m free as a bird - there are those who would try to catch me, of course, but I’m afraid their dreams will have to be dashed.”

Purrfect. 

“My turn again, Princess. What… is your favorite color?”

“Pink.” she said instantly. Chat Noir looked at her pink corset and white blouse and nodded. He’d been around enough leaders of fashion to know that the colors might have been chosen specifically to set off her blue eyes and dark hair. She picked up the fabric on her lap and continued sewing it. 

“My turn again, and remember, you don’t have to answer. 

She paused for a moment and considered the question in her mind, then nodded and looked him dead in the eyes.

“How long have you been Chat Noir?”

He considered the safety of answering the question, and decided that it was safe enough.

“About four years now, but only two people know that Chat Noir even exists. I’ve tried to stay in the shadows as much as possible for safety’s sake. The only other person who knows about Chat Noir is the one who helped me to become him.”

Marinette’s eyes danced.

“See, now I feel special. Here I thought you announced yourself to every girl you meet.”

“I generally don’t announce myself at all if I don’t have to. Even the law enforcement who’ve decided I’m a public menace don’t know my name, just the fact that a black-clad figure occasionally beats them to their jobs rescuing charming princesses.”

Her laugh was slightly forced this time, and he remembered a question that had been irking him all evening. 

“Why do you dislike it when I call you Princess?”

Marinette looked up at him in surprise. 

“I… I don’t dislike it, exactly, I guess I just think it’s a little bit inappropriate. Considering me, that is. I mean, I’m not exactly princess material.”

Something stirred inside him. 

“I don’t think that’s true. There’s no mold to what a princess should or shouldn’t be, right? So who’s to say you wouldn’t make a great princess?”

Marinette blushed and stammered

“I… I really don’t think so. I mean, I... drop and break things all the time, I regularly trip over flat surfaces - I’d make a terrible princess. Not to mention, princesses are supposed to be breath-takingly gorgeous, so that’s right out for me.”

He leaned over the fabric draped across her lap and put a finger on his chin, considering.

“I think you check that box quite well, Princess.”

He expected her to blush and stammer a little more - which he found oddly attractive - but she just rolled her eyes and continued sewing, saying easily

“Yeah, right. I don’t know what the standard of beauty is for princesses - I’ve never met one - but I know I’m not it. What about you? Do you know any? You seem to be well versed in their ways.”

Once again he knew that an answer would take him into dangerous territory, but that to refuse to answer it would be tantamount to a confession. Instead, he answered easily

“I’ve seen a few, yes. But I do live fairly close to the palace.”

“I suppose so.” she said noncommittally, giving him a strange look. He wasn’t sure she completely believed him - and didn’t know which way her disbelief tilted - but she didn’t press the subject. 

“It’s your turn.” she said instead, pushing the needle into the fabric again. Chat Noir nodded, thinking about his next question.

“Alright. How about this - what’s the story behind the rosebush?”

“The what?” She looked up at him in surprise, then looked down with a wince as she stabbed herself with the needle. She put her finger in her mouth and looked at him in confusion, then something seemed to click in her head. 

“Oh! The rosebush by my parents. It’s from a friend I made when I was really young. We haven’t seen each other in years, but we were really close when I was little. It’s a silly thing, but I like to imagine that someday he’ll come back and I’ll be able to say ‘look, it’s the roses you gave me when we were kids, I never forgot about you because I had it.’.”

She suddenly looked up and gave a nervous laugh, shaking her head and seeming to chastise herself for her rambling before saying

“I guess that sounds pretty childish, doesn’t it?”

Chat Noir smiled understandingly.

“Not at all. I have the same sort of thing myself. A little token from my first love, you might say. Besides, it’s not a bad thing to remain a little childish sometimes. It helps to bring back the magic. And in your case, I’d say you’re entitled to a little bit of magic in your life whenever you can find it.”

Her grateful smile made his heart beat faster. He didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want to be anywhere but near her. He hadn’t had this kind of companionship in over ten years. Even though their acquaintance was new, there wasn’t a bit of awkwardness between them. Even while running around in his guise of Chat Noir, he was never this content. 

“Thanks. But I do okay as it is. I mean, I’ve got the support of an old friend, and apparently now I’m being visited by a vigilante? Or are you a spy? I don’t think you’re an assassin, but I suppose anything’s possible.”

Despite being seated on the floor, he swept her a grand bow as best he could.

“None of the above, sweet princess. I am, in fact, a guardian. I take it upon myself to help the people of the kingdom and make the world a better place for those who live in it. And whether that means chasing down a thief or bringing comfort to a damsel in distress, Chat Noir is more than up to the task!”

Marinette laughed again, looking down at her sewing once more. She hadn’t even known this man for a week, but for some reason he had gained her trust in the three hours they had spent in each other’s company. She couldn't place what he had done to make her so comfortable in his presence, but for some reason her anxiety had melted away. She felt safe for the first time in years. She felt the kind of warmth she only got from Tikki - and yet it wasn’t quite the same. 

The two of them sat and talked together for several more minutes about harmless topics until Marinette had finished the purple bodice and begun to put her things away. Chat Noir watched her as they kept talking, and smiled at the thought that this girl had somehow managed to make her way into his heart within the course of three days. He reached into the bag at his side and pulled out the small, precious parcel he had brought with him. He quickly and silently set it on the bed as her back was turned, then spoke up.

“I won’t keep you up any longer, Princess. Beauty sleep, after all...”

She just laughed right back at him and rolled her eyes.

“And I suppose I’m supposed to take that as a complement?”

He took a dashing pose against the window and said with a gleam in his eyes

“But what would you say if I told you that you didn’t need it? Farewell, Princess.”

And without another word, he slipped out the window and began to climb down the tower wall. Marinette quickly stuck her head out to watch him climb down, but pulled it in as he reached the bottom. She laughed a little to herself as she imagined his reaction to her watching him. She turned back to the bed and stopped as she noticed a small roll of white cloth that certainly wasn’t hers sitting on the quilt. She glanced back out the window as she unrolled it, then pulled her hand back quickly with a tiny gasp.

A red rose sat in the white cloth, and Marinette’s first thought was of his question about her rosebush. Was this why he had asked? Perhaps that evening had been more important to him than she thought - she had assumed that he had simply been taking care of a girl who didn’t seem to be able to take care of herself, but this had to mean something more - didn’t it? 

Grabbing the rose carefully, she leaned out the window once more, but the night was conspicuously devoid of black-clad protectors. She looked once more at the rose in her hand, as dark in the moonlight as the one on her bush had been. She wondered if this was why he had visited her. Her mind raced as she tried to think what everything might mean, and suddenly she realized that an almost complete stranger had climbed up to her bedroom window in the middle of the night to see for himself that she was safe and happy, leaving a flower behind him - and she had no idea what to make of it.

Despite her confusion, she set the rose back in the cloth and wrapped it up again, carefully setting it in the top drawer of her dresser with a smile. She glanced out at the clear night sky and hoped that whoever he was, wherever he was from, this friend of hers might see her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely reader! At last, at last we begin to reach the real connection between our favorite characters. This is by far my favorite chapter to date - but there are some wonderful times ahead as well. I’m on vacation for the next two weeks, so I might be posting a couple more chapters during the interlude - but no promises. If nothing else, I’ll be sticking to my schedule of one chapter per week. For future reference, this will be the norm until we reach a point in the story where I feel like you need more than that at a time - events happening concurrently, etc. But when that happens, you will be informed!  
>  As always, I love your feedback - a review will make my day, but just knowing that you’re reading my story is enough. Thank you all for your support!


	12. Chapter 12

Adrien reached the palace in record time. He quickly pulled the rope from his bag and looped it around the conveniently placed outcropping, climbing up as quickly as possible. He reached his open window and climbed in silently, pulling the rope in after him. Then he turned and sighed.

“Plagg, I know you’re in here. Come on out.”

Plagg’s voice came from the darkness.

“Nice to know you’re finally picking up on it.” 

Adrien watched as Plagg lit the candle he was holding, a wry smile over his face. 

“How’d it go?” he asked as he set the candle down on the side table.

“Perfect, actually. Nothing went wrong at all - and that’s a first. No law enforcement, no crimes to stop, just a night of being able to be myself.”

“You do know that as Adrien or Chat Noir, you’re still the same person, right?”

“I know,” Adrien sighed, a dreamy smile on his face. “It’s just not the same. But I don’t think I could have asked for a better night.”

Plagg looked at his pupil’s face and gave a small sigh and smile of his own.

“So there’s no village boy in the picture, I take it?”

Adrien could hardly contain his delight. He wanted to do something outrageous, something crazy, but he contented himself with regaling Plagg with the entire story of the evening. He explained everything to his tutor, glad to have his support, until Plagg finally interrupted him. 

“I get it, you’re over the moon about this girl. Heaven help us all when everything hits you. You do remember you’re supposed to be proposing to someone else within the next few days?”

Adrien’s bubble of happiness was weakened, but he chose to ignore that for the moment. Instead, he flopped on the bed, still clad in his black costume, and laced his hands behind his head. 

“Yeah, sure, Plagg. I’ll talk to Kagami tomorrow. I just can’t believe my luck - seriously, she’s so wonderful! She’s funny, and kind, and hard working, and she’s just so creative! She’s making both of those stepsisters of hers dresses by herself, and she even said that she enjoys it!”

Plagg walked toward the door. 

“Sheesh. This is going to be painful to watch when it all finally hits you like a ton of bricks. Well, I wish you and your mystery girl the best of luck. And if you ever find out her name, do let me know?”

“Huh?” Adrien said, sitting up in confusion. “Her name?”

“Yeah. This whole night you’ve just referred to her as ‘she’. I assume ‘she’ has a name?”

Adrien looked up at the ceiling with a smile that he knew looked lovesick, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

“Yeah. It’s beautiful. And it’s just perfect for her, too. Marinette…” 

Plagg faltered in his steps, coughed, then kept walking out the door.

“Mari--. Yeah, it’s… nice. Erm… Night, Adrien.”

Adrien could have sworn that he saw his tutor’s smile broaden and shoulders shaking with laughter as he left the room, but then the door closed softly and he was left alone to reflect on the night’s events - and plan for his confrontation in the morning. 

Princess Kagami was sitting in the library when Adrien found her next day. He mentally steeled himself, then conjured up a picture of Marinette’s enchanting smile. This memory gave him the courage to walk up to the girl in front of him, whose face wore an expression of utter serenity.

“Good morning. May I join you?”

Kagami simply nodded, watching him as he sat next to her, holding his hands tightly together. Adrien finally opened his mouth to speak when she beat him to it.

“You don’t want to marry me and you’re trying to find a way to break it to me gently.”

Adrien closed his mouth again, staring at her. Then he said quickly

“I-- No! That’s not exactly what… I just…” 

He shut his mouth before he could babble on any more. Kagami spoke again, her voice low and even.

“I know you don’t want this. It’s not what either of us want, in full honesty. But we have a duty to our kingdoms. It’s not our place to choose what we want. We were born into this, and we must take the hardships as they come.”

Then she suddenly looked up at him and her cheeks flushed slightly. Adrien smiled at her, realizing that this was the most emotion she had ever shown him, and finding her the more approachable for it. 

“Please, don’t apologize. I’m not offended. In fact, I should be apologizing to you for how I’ve been behaving the past few days. I’ve been… confused. But I think I understand now.”

He gently placed his hand on hers, hoping that the gesture wouldn’t be misinterpreted as he continued.

“You are a wonderful person, and I understand that this isn’t fair to you. I know that this is all my fault, and I don’t want to hurt you. But if there is any way for us to… form an alliance without…” he gestured between them “... this, I would rather find that way.”

Kagami gently pulled her hand out from under his and nodded.

“I understand completely. I also would rather find a different way of joining our kingdoms. I hope you won’t find this insulting, but I would rather not marry you.”

Adrien almost laughed out loud.

“Considering that I just rejected you before proposing, I don’t think I have any right to be offended. And it’s probably more that I deserve that you continue speaking to me after that. But thank you.”

Kagami looked him dead in the eye for a moment, the look making Adrien squirm, then she seemed to relax.   
“I see. Who is she?”

Adrien felt his heart stop for a moment. 

“S-She?”

Kagami gave a low chuckle.

“I’ve lived with my mother for my whole life, and one of the things she trained me in was identifying emotion in others. Ironic, isn’t it? I can tell exactly how you feel for someone. Who is she? Is it one of the girls here?”

Adrien cleared his throat.

“I… don’t know what you mean. I--”

“Would it help you to know that I’m in the same position?”

Kagami was still staring at him, her eyes not leaving his.

“You are? I mean… err, I’m sorry?”

Her eyes suddenly left his face and searched through the crowd as she said

“Yes. One of my mother’s courtiers. He’s… different. A bit like you, but not quite. He understands me.”

Adrien nodded, beginning to understand. 

“Is he here with you?”

Kagami nodded slowly. 

“Yes. It hurts him to see us together, but he knows where my heart lies. And he knows that unless you outright propose to me, there is still a sliver of hope for us.”

Adrien gave a delighted grin.

“Well, you don’t have to worry anymore. In the kindest spirit possible, I’d rather make my own choice. Thank you. And I hope you’ll be happy with him.”

Kagami gave him the first real smile he’d seen from her. Adrien sighed, looking away.

“That only leaves one problem. Or rather, two problems. Your mother… and my father.”

Kagami nodded, solemn once more. 

“Indeed. My mother may be easy enough to convince - she’s not unreasonable, just determined. And she will understand if your father explains it to her. But what about him?”

Adrien shook his head. 

“I don’t think he’ll be easy to convince. He’s… not the easiest man to argue with. I ought to know. And he already knows how I feel about this, too.”

“I see. Does he know about the other girl?”

Adrien knew that his face was reddening under her scrutiny, and he looked away in embarrassment. 

“Uh… No. The girl in question isn’t exactly… noble. Or rather, she’s not nobility. And it’s a rather recent attachment as well… I haven’t mentioned it to him. There could be complicated questions to answer.”

The two of them sat together in silence, hoping for inspiration to strike and save them from their fates. Suddenly, Adrien sat up.

“What if… What if we didn’t tell anyone until the festival?”

“But we’d still have to announce something about our alliance. What do we tell the kingdom? Gossip spreads, and everyone already expects to hear about an engagement. How do we avoid that?”

Adrien felt a Chat Noir grin sweep over his face. 

“We pretend. We refuse to confirm or deny anything until the last possible moment, then we tell the truth. That we’re proud to be representing our kingdoms and we’re glad to have come to an agreement on the alliance, but that vicious gossip has spread saying that we’re getting engaged, and we refute it.”

The girl beside him considered the plan. She considered for what Adrien felt to be an ominously long time before deciding.

“I suppose it could work. But we’d have to be very careful about it. Any number of things could go wrong. Including your father refusing to accept it.”

Adrien’s Chat Noir grin became hard.

“If there’s anything I know about my father, it’s that he won’t make a scene in public. If we’ve announced it to the entire kingdom, he won’t come back and make a fool of himself - and us - by insisting that we are engaged.”

Kagami nodded.

“Then that’s our best option. And I hope it works. Otherwise, we could be stuck in an awkward relationship for the rest of our lives. And in all honesty, Adrien, I don’t think I could handle that. I’d much rather not take a lover.”

Adrien’s face burned with embarrassment again, but Kagami just laughed.

“I kid. I understand that jokes are a good basis for a friendship, correct? And if we’re going to make this work, I think we should at least be on friendly terms.”

Adrien flashed her a grateful smile as she stood and walked out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovely readers! Thanks so much for coming and enjoying this latest chapter - it's short, but it's important, and the next chapter should be coming soon. We're getting into the thick of things in just a few chapters! I promise, this is a Cinderella story. Really. It is.   
> As always, I love all the reviews and love you give me - It absolutely makes my day!   
> Love you all, and stay safe!


	13. Chapter 13

Marinette wasn’t surprised to receive her late evening caller through her window. This time, the only thing that alerted her to his coming was the crack of a branch, but she was prepared - indeed, she had been hoping for a sound from out the window for some time. 

“Hold on, I have a rope.” she called softly out the window, grabbing the coil she had hidden under her bed a day and a half ago and tying it securely to the bedpost. Then she tossed it out the window to the figure on the wall. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the most athletic of people, so she could only watch as it uncoiled - and hit him on the head. He looked up at her with an expression of offended dignity as he said

“Me-ouch. Quite a weapon there, princess.”

All Marinette could do was giggle helplessly against the window as she waited for him to make his way up the rest of the tower wall. When he finally reached the top and peered over the windowsill, looking at her reproachfully, her eyes were full of tears of amusement. She looked at him again and redoubled her laughter, while he just watched her with a gleam in his eyes.

“I see that my puns have brought you amusement. Or was it my embarrassment at being attacked by a rope?”

“I’m sorry!” she said, wiping her eyes. “Oh, I’m so sorry, it’s been a rotten day, but that made it a million times better. I shouldn't be laughing at it, I know, but still!”

“Laugh away, Princess. All in a day’s work for the dashing Chat Noir.” he said with an exaggerated bow. Marinette composed herself and moved back toward the bed, sitting on the floor and leaning up against it, picking up her sewing once more. He saw that she was still adding embellishments to the bodice of a gold gown, the second sitting on the end of the bed with pins still attached.

“Still working on those gowns? It’s been two whole days since the last time I saw you, and you’re not finished with them?”

She sighed and just kept sewing as he sat down a few feet away from her.

“Well, I would have been, except that Lila insisted on everything in the house being scrubbed. I think she’s hoping Chloé will snag a handsome nobleman at the festival, and somehow that equates to me having to dust every room and scrub every square inch of the floor. And still get the dresses done on time. It’s ridiculous!”

“So why didn’t you tell her so?”

Marinette gave an involuntary flinch and said haltingly

“I did. It… didn’t go well.” She shook her head, apparently clearing away the memory, then turned back to him with a smile on her face. “Anyway, what brings you back here? Did you forget something?”

She was clearly waiting for him to admit to the rose, but he just laughed once more and made a grand gesture.

“Merely my heart.” His eyes gleamed as she giggled again, perfectly at ease, and he relaxed again. “Is there anything wrong with wanting to see a friend?” 

“Nothing at all. I’m glad you came, kitty. It’s been a long day, and I appreciate the friendly face.”

She kept sewing, her eyes still on the cloth, and so didn’t see the look he gave her. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until finally Chat Noir broke it.

“So if you’re making these… I would say monstrosities if I weren’t so polite - these things for your stepsisters, where’s your gown for the festival?”

This time, her laugh was soft and sad.

“Oh, I’m not going. She’d never let me go to something like that.”

Neither of them were in any doubt as to who “She” was. Chat Noir reached for her, but stopped himself in time, remembering her dislike of being touched.

“I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t think about that.”

She shook her head and shrugged, playing it off as lightly as she could, but Chat Noir saw right through her and could see the pain behind the levity as she said

“I might try to sneak away after Lila and the girls leave, but if they come back and find me gone there’ll be more trouble than ever. I’ll try, though.”

Chat Noir reached for her hand.

“Well then, if nothing else, I’ll just have to come and see you after the evening is over.”

He expected her to laugh at his words, but she smiled and blushed a little.

“I’d like that. I’ll probably appreciate the company, but please don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. At least while they’re out of the house, I’ll be able to get some rest. These past few days they’ve been running me ragged. I haven’t even been able to go see Tikki because of all the sewing.”

“Tikki?”

She smiled up at him.

“She was my nurse when I was younger, and then a kind of governess for a while. She’s that dear friend of mine who lives nearby - she can’t live here, obviously, Lila would have a fit.”

Chat Noir wondered why that name sounded so familiar, but didn’t have time to consider it. Instead, he asked a question that had been bugging him for several days.

“What exactly is your stepfamily’s name? You keep calling her ‘Lila’, but what’s your step family's last name?”

Marinette shook her head as she tied a knot and reached for the scissors. 

“It’s actually kind of complicated. See, Lila’s last name is Rossi, but she’s had three husbands, so each of her daughters has a different last name from her.”

“Three?!”

The shock in his voice was as obvious as it was unsurprising, and Marinette rolled her eyes.

“Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are. She always goes back to her maiden name when she’s widowed. Her first husband, Chloe’s father, was Monsieur Bourgeois, an old French nobleman who I think was a diplomat to Italy. I’m sure it shocked everyone when he married a young Italian beauty at the ripe old age of sixty - he died before Chloe was born. Sabrina’s father was some kind of high law enforcement - maybe a police captain or something? His name was Raincomprix. I think he was killed on the job about six years ago or so, but I’m not really allowed to ask personal questions. After he died, Lila kind of just lived on charity for a while - she had a lot of connections and she lived in reasonable comfort until she married my father. You’ll notice… well, actually, you wouldn’t.”

She stopped talking, but as the silence dragged on, he gently said

“What would I notice?”

“This house. There used to be a lot of money and savings, but as soon as Lila moved in she started spending, probably trying to feel like she was a politician’s wife again. And when my father died, she… she had already used up most of what he’d saved away.”

The sadness in her voice wrenched at his heart, and he reached for her again unconsciously. She moved gently but resolutely away from his touch, and he quickly pulled his hand back, saying

“Sorry. Did you father… what did he do?”

Marinette looked up at him with a look of apprehension.

“Why all the questions?”

“Nothing! I just… I want to get to know you.”

She looked into his eyes and seemed to relax. 

“My father…” she said, then stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. She began again. “My father started working at his father’s bakery on the coast when he was young. He took it over when my grandfather died, but he was so good that he made it into more than just a bakery - it was a specialty shop for the rich and entitled. They used to say that no one could do better than Tom Dupain. He was already well known when he met my mother, and they worked together until there was enough money to support a family. By the time I was old enough to remember it, neither of them really did the work in the bakery, they’d made it into a business and were wealthy enough to settle down and enjoy life.” She laughed under her breath as she said “... not that my father ever really left.”

There was something about this story that made him think back to his childhood - something barely out of his reach, just out of memory. Suddenly, Marientte shook her head and looked at him.

“Well, that’s enough about me. I know I can’t ask you the same things, but I might as well involve you in the conversation!”

He smiled back at her, saying

“I enjoy hearing about it, but I understand.”

They looked at each other for several seconds, something passing between them, unspoken and unseen, until Marinette looked away with that little flush he found so enchanting.

“I… Sorry. Er… Oh! The festival! Are you excited about it?”

It was his turn to sigh.

“Not particularly, if I’m being honest. It’ll just be a bunch of stuck up royals parading around to show off to the commoners and trying to keep that wall between them just as high as ever. There won’t be intermingling between the lower and upper classes, it’s just an excuse for the royals to prove how much better they are than all the rest of the world, and--”

Marinette giggled, stopping his tirade in mid-stride.

“I see you have strong feelings about this. Should I be worried that I’m sitting with an anarchist?” 

He gave a crack of laughter.

“No need to worry. I’m no anarchist, I just feel like the nobility should do more for the people instead of just worrying about themselves.”

“So… a non-violent anarchist, then?”

“Fair enough.”

Marinette suddenly noticed that he was sitting much closer to her than the last time she’d looked, and she surreptitiously moved away. 

“Are you planning on boycotting, then? If you’re so against the nobility parading themselves around, I mean?” she said lightly. Chat smiled at her.

“I wish I could, but unfortunately my family is prominent enough--”

“Stop! No! Don’t tell me anything about it!” she said quickly, with a panic to her voice he couldn’t understand. “It’s not… Sorry, I should have thought about that before I asked. For heaven’s sake, don’t tell me anything!”

Chat Noir knew that it wasn’t a good idea for him to share his identity with her, but couldn’t understand her apparent fear of knowing. However, he respected her wish and simply said

“My apologies, princess. No harm done. But no, Chat Noir will most likely not be attending.” he flashed her a saucy grin once more “And to return to the previous conversation, I hope you can make it to at least one night, for if you do end up coming, my time will be made the more lovely because of it.”

“And how am I supposed to know who you are when you’re not Chat Noir?” she said, her eyebrow lifted skeptically, but an answering grin on her lips.

“Why, find my dashing good looks and winning personality, of course!”

Marinette’s burst of laughter didn’t bode well for romance, but Chat Noir didn’t particularly care at the moment. It was enough for him right now to just be with her, to sit and talk to someone who didn’t care that he was a prince. He wished he could share with her who he really was, but knew that it was too risky - despite everything, he had to keep in mind that they had only known each other for less than a week. While his heart had been stolen from the first time he saw her smile, the voice of reason in the back of his mind still reminded him it was dangerous for him to share his alter-ego with anyone. It was risky to be here with her in the first place - but at this moment he didn’t particularly care.

“Chat Noir?”

He suddenly came back down to earth as she poked him with her small needle.

“Ow! Hey?!”

She just laughed again. Really, her laugh was beautiful.

“I called you three times. What’re you thinking about?”

“Oh, this and that. Including the fact that it’s getting late and--”

Suddenly, Marinette held up her hand, signalling for silence. In the sudden stillness, Chat Noir thought he could hear a bell ringing somewhere below them. Marinette’s face fell.

“Of course. I’m sorry, but I have to go. Someone’s ringing for me. Can you let yourself out? I’d rather not wait--”

She was hurrying out of the room as she spoke, pulling bits of thread off of her black skirt. Chat Noir watched her leave, wondering how long it would be until she came back. Then he realized the opportunity he had to look for his rose. 

He had wanted to ask about the gift all evening, but had feared being too forward. Had she liked it? Had he been too obvious? Perhaps she hadn’t realized what it signified. He’d wanted to do something that would tell her that he cared about her, but maybe that was too ambiguous? He looked toward the chest of drawers, taking a step forward as if he was going to investigate them, then he stopped.

He couldn’t. She trusted him to leave and not to invade her privacy. She hadn’t pressed him for anything private in his life, and in fact had stopped him from revealing his family’s status. He owed the same to her. He quickly slipped a small piece of parchment out of his bag, along with a small charcoal pencil, and quickly wrote a note to her. Then he set it on top of the dresser and quickly left the room the same way he’d entered, leaving the rope dangling from the windowsill. He half-feared that someone might come around the side of the house, but the bell had stopped ringing and all seemed still. Even so, he quickly made his way to the closest cover - the garden wall - before turning to watch the window. 

It was quite a while before he saw a shadow in the room again, but it wasn’t there for long. Apparently Marinette was also turning in for the night - the light went out just minutes after her shadow appeared, and Chat Noir waited for just a few moments more. He was about to turn and sneak away when he saw her at the window, reaching for the rope and pulling it up behind him. The moon wasn’t yet full, but there was enough light for him to see her pale skin and the outline of her dark hair, released from the confines of her usual head covering but still in her twin pigtails. He noticed how it swept across her face in the wind, streaks of darkness on creamy white skin. He also saw - or perhaps imagined - that her hand was clasped around something she was looking down at. He smiled, wondering if it was his note.

“Goodnight and sweet dreams, Princess. I’ll come after the first night of the festival.  
\--C.N.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another encounter between our beloved heroes! Just one more chapter and we'll be at the festival.  
> As you can probably tell, I'm an AVID MariChat fan, so these scenes with the two of them are probably some of the most fun to write. I still have a week of vacation, so I hope to get another chapter in this week along with our usually scheduled Sunday night (or Monday, if I forget) update.   
> As always, thank you for all the love and support I get from you readers.


	14. Chapter 14

Marinette was exhausted. Four days she had been working on these gowns, and finally they were done - or at least close enough that her stepsisters could try them on for minute adjustments. She made her way down the halls toward her eldest stepsister’s room, the dress held gently in her arms so as to keep the black flounces and gold beading intact. She expected nothing but criticism of her work, if she was being perfectly honest with herself, but that was no reason to be slipshod in it. She steeled herself as she reached the bedroom, then knocked softly on Chloé’s door. 

“Well, come in already!” was the only answer. Marinette gently opened the door and stepped inside. Chloé was sitting in front of her mirror, brushing out her blonde hair. She stood up as Marinette entered and looked at the gold and black dress in her arms with the customary disdain she showed to everything. 

“Ugh. Is that the best you can do? Well, I guess it’ll have to be enough. Come on, put it on me - let’s get this over with, I suppose.”

Marinette normally would have been angry at the tone, but she couldn’t stop remembering Chloé’s taking the blame for the missing jewels, so instead she felt herself smiling kindly at her stepsister as she offered the dress to her, helped her to step into it, and adjusted the petticoat beneath it and lacing up the back. The gold dress perfectly set off Chloé’s blonde hair and ice-blue eyes, and - she wondered whether Chloé had planned this intentionally - made her look like a golden bumblebee - certainly, her stepsister would turn heads the next night. She stepped back to examine the whole and noticed that the skirt was slightly too long for Chloé. She quickly bent down to pin it up, but Chloé stopped her and sat down in the chair. 

“Don’t bother, I’m wearing heeled shoes tomorrow. Go and get them out of the closet.”

Marinette nodded and quickly retrieved the shoes. She noticed that the shoes were slightly scuffed up - as she quickly fitted them over her sister’s feet, Marinette cleared her throat.

“Would… would you like me to try and patch up your shoes? I might not be able to make them as good as new, but I can try.”

Chloé looked down at her stepsister, still settling the black leather straps into place.

“Of course not! Fix the dress instead - it’s too loose in the waist, and I can barely breathe in parts.”

And with that, she stood and waited for Marinette to finish her adjustments without another word. Marinette quickly pinned where she needed it, then unlaced the back of the dress and helped Chloé to step out of it. Chloé sat right back down at the vanity and picked up the brush again. 

“And don’t forget you’re supposed to be doing my hair tomorrow! I can’t be seen with messy hair at something like that - I’ll probably be meeting a prince. So go on! Go do it!”

Marinette walked out with the dress in her arms and a small, incredulous smile on her face. While her stepsister hadn’t been particularly generous or forthcoming, there had been a change in her demeanor. Instead of throwing a hissy fit and calling for her mother, she had simply told Marinette to fix the problem - and had even stopped her from doing unnecessary work. Perhaps there was hope for Chloé after all. 

As she walked out of the room, Marinette missed her stepsister’s look of - what was it? Cunning? Pity? Whatever the emotion running through her stepsister’s head, Marinette missed it all. And she also missed her next words:

“I think it’s about time I did something for you, too.”

After taking the gold dress back up to her room, laying it out flat on the bed and setting the pins in place more precisely, she took the purple and aqua dress down to her other stepsister’s room. Sabrina opened the door for her before she could even knock, and stepped back so that Marinette could enter. She gave Marinette a big grin as she took in the dress with a squeal.

“You finished it! It’s so pretty!”

“And a good afternoon to you too, Sabrina.”

Sabrina noted the slight tease and just grinned at her older stepsister, giving her arm a little shake. Marinette felt her heart lift a little bit. It wasn’t often that she had time alone with her youngest stepsister, but she always felt a bit of her stress slip away when that time came. Sabrina was so positive, despite her family, that Marinette had often wondered if they might have been friends in different circumstances. 

Sabrina pulled the dress from Marinette’s arms and held it up to herself.

“It’s so lovely! And the colors go so well with my hair, too.”

Marinette tried not to smile at this. Her little stepsister may have been kind, but she was also rather lacking in style. The purple and aqua didn’t at all match her strawberry blonde hair - but Marinette wouldn’t have said that for the world. She just took the dress back and helped Sabrina into it, performing the same office for her as for her older sister. Except this time, Sabrina spent three minutes parading around in her finary before Marinette could convince her to stand still and allow some adjustments to be made. The skirt was much too long, and the collar was wide enough that she might have slipped right through if not careful. Marinette then helped Sabrina out of the dress and was about to leave when Sabrina said excitedly

“Wait! I forgot!”

She rushed over to her own vanity and pulled out a small string of black jet beads. 

“I know it’s not much, but I want you to borrow these for tomorrow! Please?”

Marinette looked down at the string being held out to her, then shook her head and smiled sadly. 

“I’m sorry, Sabrina, but I can’t accept these. I’m not going. But thank you for the offer anyway.”

Sabrina’s face fell.

“Oh… I thought that Mother might let you go this time, since everyone’s invited. I was so looking forward to spending the night with you, too! Mother and Chloé only care about meeting a prince, but I want to be able to just enjoy the festival with someone!”

Marinette felt tears coming, and she quickly shifted the dress to one side so that she could grab her stepsister in a hug without stabbing her with the pins.

“I know, Sabrina. But Lila wouldn’t like it if I came, you know she wouldn’t. So thank you for thinking of me, but you go and have a good time! Try asking Alya Cesaire - I’m sure she’d love to go with you, and you’ll have to tell me all about it when you get back.”

Sabrina looked like she was about to protest when Marinette cut her off - the only member of her family she would have dared to do so. 

“Listen, Sabrina, it’s sweet of you to think of me, but you’ve done enough for me already.”

She quickly smiled at Sabrina and walked out of the room. But as she did so, she missed her stepsister’s step toward her, the opening of her mouth as if she were to say something more. And after she closed the door, she didn’t hear Sabrina say

“But what if I did something even more for you this time?”

Marinette walked back up to her attic room and began to adjust her stepsister’s dresses. She knew that she only had one day to finish the adjustments, but she wasn’t worried. She set Sabrina’s dress on the bed and noticed for the first time that the girl had somehow slipped the beads into a fold of the dress - she was surprised they hadn’t fallen out as she had walked. She lifted them up. They were jet black, shining in the light from the window, and Marinette had to smile at her stepsister’s generosity, even though she knew it was dangerous to accept. 

This was the first time in quite a while that Sabrina and Marinette had been alone together - Lila generally didn’t allow her stepdaughter to associate with Sabrina, and Marinette often wondered if there was a reason for this. Sabrina was certainly the daughter who seemed to dislike her mother’s methods most of all, even if she was never outright defiant, and perhaps Lila didn’t want Marinette’s episodes of insolence to rub off on her impressionable daughter. 

Marinette pulled her sewing box toward her as she contemplated her stepsisters’ change in behavior. Well, more specifically, Chole’s change in behavior. While Sabrina’s actions were surprising, they weren’t completely unprecedented. Sabrina had always been the one to do something kind, no matter how small, after Lila’s outbursts at her stepsister. She may not have taken much initiative for herself, but she was a kind girl at heart. Chloé, on the other hand, had never once given Marinette the smallest encouragement or kindness until just the week before. Marinette wondered what had happened to her eldest stepsister to bring this about. 

She looked down at the beads again and smiled again. Then she stood and walked out of her room with the beads in her hand. She looked carefully around for a moment before walking up one more flight of stairs to the highest level of the tower. There, she quietly opened up the door, wincing at the creak the hinges made. She closed it carefully behind her before turning around and breathing a sigh of relief. 

Before her was a dim room covered in dust, with the exception of one spot in the middle. There was a small table sitting there alongside a dressmaker’s dummy. And on that dummy was her latest project: An old pink gown of her mother's she had been altering to fit herself. If Lila wasn’t willing to let her go to the festival with them, then she’d go on her own. She’d only go for a little while, and she’d slip away before the night got too late, but she was quite set - she was going to go. She smiled as she looked at the silk ribbons she had saved from an old gown of Chloé’s, the frills from a ripped petticoat sewn on the underside of the skirt to give volume, and the overskirt made of an old costume of hers, found in a small box in this very attic. 

She recalled the first time she had seen this gown on her mother. It had been her parent’s wedding anniversary, and she had been only seven years old. She had thought it was the most beautiful dress she’d ever seen.

“Mama, when I get old enough can I wear that dress?” she had asked in a high-pitched child’s voice. Her mother had laughed and bent to hug her only daughter.

“Of course. In fact, I’ll make you one like it when you’re old enough, that way we can match. How do you like that?”

She took comfort in the fact that this dress was something tangibly connecting her to her mother. She wished she could have done something nicer, but this was the best she could do without materials or time. As it was, it was just a nice dress - a dress connecting a mother and a daughter. 

“Lila won’t stop me this time.” she said out loud to the empty room. Then she looked at the beads in her hand, holding them up the dress. She almost laughed out loud. These would never match the gown she would wear, but she silently thanked her Sabrina anyway. Then she walked around the gown and made a few minute adjustments before leaving the room once more, closing the door quietly and completely behind her and going back to her stepsisters’ gowns. Whatever they were doing, they were doing it for her, and she owed it to them to give them the best she could in return.


	15. Chapter 15

“I can’t do this, Plagg.” Adrien said, wishing he could pace the room. Plagg glared at him and kept adjusting his coat sleeve.

“Well, you don’t have much of a choice now. You were the one who decided to just pretend like everything was the same”

Adrien glared right back. 

“Thanks a lot. You’re a real help right now.”

Plagg impatiently moved his pupil’s arm back to where it needed to be, finally securing the cuff of his coat in place and moving to his other side to finish the second sleeve.

“Hey, you got yourself into this, Catsennova. You’ve only got to be Adrien for a couple of hours, then you can meet me at the safe house and we’ll make the switch. Then Chat Noir’s free as a metaphorical bird - nice and easy.”

Adrien sighed and nodded, looking at the small mirror and adjusting his blond hair with his free hand as Plagg wrestled with the cuff of the other - why on earth did one sleeve need so many buttons, anyway? 

“Where is this safe house, again?”

“It’s just a few streets away from the palace - it’s between here and the river. It’s a place called ‘Fu’s’. I know the owner and I’m good friends with his assistant, so it’s all arranged. They won’t see you -  _ either _ of you. Just go to the door and knock - you know the one - and I’ll let you in.”

Adrien nodded, but couldn’t help himself.

“And what if there are other people around that might recognize me? What then?”

Plagg finished buttoning the cuff and clapped a hand on his charge’s shoulder. 

“Just make sure they don’t see you.”

“Thanks.” Adrien said, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

  
  


As he came into the main courtyard, he saw that the whole castle was out in force. Between the various tables laden with delicacies and the branches of candles making the courtyard as bright as day were servants holding out trays of the best wine, ladies in jewel-toned velvets and pastel silks, and gentlemen in as much glitter as their coats could hold and dress swords that wouldn’t have held back a fly. Adrien allowed the tiniest bit of Chat Noir to show in his smile before quickly changing it to his usual princely expression. 

In contrast to most of the other gentlemen in the crowd, his own cream-colored coat was as modest as he could convince his tailor to make it. Luckily, minimalism was coming into fashion, and his father always insisted that Adrien be at the forefront of every trend. This happened to work in his favor in this case, since it meant we wouldn’t be jangling through the streets in jewels and medals - he didn’t particularly relish the idea of having to fight off robbers as himself. 

As had been decreed, there were masks everywhere. Not everyone wore one - he didn’t himself - but enough people did that the wearing of one was inconspicuous. Perfect. Hopefully the same prevailed in the city festival, too.

He knew that eyes were turning to him as he walked out the doors, but he had long since learned to ignore them. He walked up to the main platform, joining his father and the visiting royalty. He took his place next to Princess Kagami and stood next to her, noticing his father’s barely perceptible interest in them. He refused to give him anything more to use against them, however, so he simply smiled in a friendly fashion at the princess, taking in her white gown and mask before turning to the crowd in front of them. 

“The gates will open in just a few minutes, your Majesty.” Nathalie’s even voice came from behind them, and Adrien wondered how it was that she was still organizing everything even to the minute. He shouldn’t be surprised at this point, he’d known the woman for as long as he could remember, but he was still always astounded - the skill she had was almost inconceivable.

“Very well. Thank you, Nathalie.” The king said without turning around or changing his expression.

They stood on the platform and watched as the gates were opened and the crowd began streaming in, some walking over to the royal party to be formally greeted, others simply joining the crowd. 

While the festival in the city center was open for all, so was the palace festival. This supposedly meant that there was to be mingling between the upper and lower classes, but Adrien knew better - the noble would ignore or shun the common, and the common would feel out of place and unworthy surrounded by the glitter of royalty, and thus the wall between the two classes would be built even higher. Adrien didn’t like it, but he forced himself to smile graciously and greet the noble guests as they approached, wondering when this night would be over. 

After what seemed like hours, the stream of guests slowed and King Gabriel turned to the others on the royal platform. He nodded at his son, saying

“Adrien, why don’t you and Princess Kagami mingle with the crowd?”

Adrien knew exactly what his father had in mind, but there wasn’t a way to get out of it now, so he just smiled and offered his arm to Princess Kagami, leading her off of the platform and out of sight of their respective parents. As soon as they were far enough away, he quickly dropped her arm - gently, of course.

“Why are you following his instructions?” she asked, stepping in time with him. Adrien leaned forward slightly to mutter into her ear - as unromantically as possible, of course.

“Because the less they see us together, the better.”

“I see.”

“Besides,” he said lightly, “I assume you’d like to find your gentleman, and I have a lady I’d like to keep an eye out for myself. Best to let them think what they like and leave us alone - and not to give them any proof of anything in the meantime.”

A fond smile spread over her face and she nodded. 

“Thank you. He’s most likely with the rest of my mother’s courtiers.”

Adrien spotted a group of familiar faces a few yards away, and gestured to them.

“The best cover is a crowd. What do you say to a larger group?”

She surprised him by flashing the smallest of grins - or at least he assumed it was supposed to be a grin - and walking over to them, Adrien following a few feet behind. He suddenly noticed a tall young man watching him - no, watching  _ her _ \- from the edge of the courtyard, and looked him up and down surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye. The stranger looked almost familiar, with his aqua doublet with black trim, and Adrien racked his brains to think where he had seen that face before. The man’s hair was black, though almost obscured by the feathered aqua hat he wore on it, and his face, like many of those around him, was obscured by a mask. Adrien suddenly recognized him as the young man who had been watching him in the garden as he walked with the princess. 

Well, that explained the expression.

Adrien gently touched Princess Kagami’s arm and made a small gesture toward the man in question. The subtle softening of her eyes left him in no doubt. 

He met the young man’s eyes and smiled at him kindly, trying to express an invitation to join their little group. Apparently it had been understood, or perhaps something had passed between him and the princess, because he quickly pushed himself off the wall he’d been leaning on and walked over to them. 

“Good evening, your highness.” he said, his baritone voice cold and distant. Adrien couldn’t really blame him for this, so he simply held out his hand and said in his friendliest voice

“Good evening! I don’t think we’ve met. Please, call me Adrien.”

The man in front of him looked at his outstretched hand, then at the princess for a moment. Apparently whatever passed between them alayed all his fears, because he quickly took Adrien’s hand and shook it warmly with a small smile. 

“Luka, Lord Couffaine. A pleasure, er… Adrien.”

Adrien turned back to the other group, who hadn’t entirely left off their conversation. He tried to introduce a topic that would keep the newcomers interested before stepping back almost imperceptibly and looking around the crowd. He listened and joined in the conversation at times, but in the back of his head was the knowledge that he still had a long evening to go before his alter-ego could take over, that he still had his duty as prince to perform, and that there might be a welcome face in the crowd if he could just spot her. 

Suddenly, a disturbance was heard from the gates. From their vantage point at the edge of the crowd, the group could just see the entrance and the troubadour as he called out

“My lords and ladies, I present, the maiden Ladybug!”

  
  
  
  


**_Three hours earlier…_ **

  
  
  
  
  


Marinette finished lacing Chloé’s dress and stepped back to admire the result before hooking the girl’s pearl pendant around her neck and tying the gold mask over her eyes. 

“Finally! Are you done yet?” Chloé said testily, turning to admire herself in the mirror. She looked herself over from head to toes, then sighed. “Well, I can’t see anything terribly wrong with it. It’s no Agreste, but it’ll do. Now hand me that bottle of scent.”

Marinette did so before asking

“Is there anything else you need, Chloé?”

Chloé waved her away dismissively without a word, spraying her perfume around herself. Marinette sighed softly and walked out the door. She was about to go down the hall when Sabrina called to her from her own room. Marinette turned and walked back to her, confused since Sabrina’s toilette had already been completed. Sabrina’s eyes were wide and shining behind her white mask, her face lit by a smile. 

“Marinette! It’s beautiful. And I know the festival will be wonderful. And you’ll never guess what I did! I--”

Just then a scream came from around the corner of the hallway. Marinette knew that scream well, and her eyes went wide. She ran around the corner, skidding to a halt in front of Lila’s door. She then froze for a moment before knocking softly. The door was flung open and Lila stood there, her eyes full of tears. 

“Marinette! The most terrible thing. My string of beads broke and scattered all over the floor! And it’s the last thing my first husband gave me - I can’t believe how clumsy I am! And I was going to wear it tonight, too - won’t you be a dear and find those beads for me?”

Marinette nodded, stepping into the room without a word. Lila smiled sweetly at her before holding up a string. Or rather, a triple string. Of course it would have to be a three-level necklace. Marinette peered down at the floor, seeing a scattering of pale brown beads across the carpet. 

“And won’t you be a dear and fix them up for me? It won’t take you long, will it? And it’s not like you’re going anywhere tonight - I mean, in those rags? And you don’t have a dress - there isn’t even one you could use in the attic upstairs, is there? It’s too bad, isn’t it?”

Marinette just nodded. She knew it was too early for her to get ready for the festival in any case. She would just wait until they were gone and then she’d be off like a shot. She bent down and began to gather the beads in her hand, setting them gently into her apron pocket. She heard Lila exit the room with Sabrina, animatedly discussing with her daughter the plans for the evening, but didn’t stop. She had to finish this as quickly as possible. 

She reached under the vanity, the table, and even wriggled her arm under the bed as far as she could to reach the last she could find. Then she stood and walked out of the room and up to hers as quickly as possible. Finding her smallest needle, she quickly reattached the beads together on a set of threads. She heard the carriage Lila had hired leaving the house, and she smiled in the growing darkness. As soon as she finished the string of beads, she set it on her dresser and turned to go up to the attic. Then she suddenly stopped and turned back to the dresser, grabbing the string of beads Sabrina had offered her out of the top drawer and slipping it into her apron pocket. Then she closed her bedroom door and quickly ran up the stairs to the attic room and her gown.

As she reached it, she had a sudden feeling of foreboding. There was something wrong, she just couldn’t put her finger on it. Then she suddenly realized that the latch was open. The door was ajar just slightly. Hands trembling, she thrust it open, then stepped back in horror.

Her mother’s gown was on the floor. Not just that, but it was in pieces. It was as if someone had taken a knife to it. There were ribbons everywhere, the overskirt was ripped to shreds, and the gown itself - or what was left of it - was covered in dust and stains. 

Marinette dropped to her knees. She wasn’t crying, she was too angry for that. She couldn’t believe that woman. Lila’s last words came back to her, mocking her.

_ “And you don’t even have a dress - there isn’t even one you could use in the attic.” _

She had known. Somehow, in some way, Lila had found out about her plan and had taken matters into her own hands. Marinette knew it. She didn’t know how Lila had discovered it, but she didn’t even care. She had no more options, and Lila knew it. 

Marinette stood slowly and walked down the stairs, leaving the door open and getting faster with every step. She didn’t stop in her bedroom, she didn’t stop in the kitchen, she didn’t even stop long enough to close the back door as she ran out of the house. Her eyes were dry, but not for long. She kept running and running, stumbling over tufts of grass and stones. Into the forest, toward the only source of comfort she could imagine right now.

This wasn’t like the last time. This time Lila had done something even more than she had intended. Marinette finally admitted to herself what she had subconsciously known all along - that she had harbored some small, burning hope that she might be able to find her prince. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to herself, because she knew just as clearly as anyone that it was hopeless. No prince would want to even look at a servant girl like her. She was just plain Marinette, beaten down by the world and left alone by everyone to fend for herself. Of course no prince would look twice at her now, no matter the connection from their childhood. And yet, her hope hadn’t died, no matter how hard she tried to put it out. And now it had been snuffed out irreparably. 

She finally reached the glade. She ran the few extra steps and collapsed on her mother’s grave, finally allowing her tears to overcome her. 

“I’m so sorry.” she choked out. “I’m so sorry, Mama.”

She stayed there. She didn’t know how long it was until she heard a voice behind her and realized that a figure was approaching.

“Oh, my poor Marinette. I’m so sorry.”

She raised her eyes and saw in the moonlight the form of Tikki in front of her. She turned away again.

“You were right, Tikki. I’m sorry, Papa, but I can’t do this anymore. I don’t know what you were thinking, but I can’t. I’m sorry…”

Tikki approached her and gently put her arms around her. Marinette pulled away, and Tikki didn’t try again, just took her charge’s hand in both of hers and stroked it gently. 

“Marinette. Please, talk to me.”

Marinette couldn’t stop herself. 

“It’s all that woman’s fault. She’s evil, Tikki. I can’t prove anything, but she’s evil. She manipulated everyone - she manipulated Papa into writing that awful will… I can’t do it anymore, Tikki!”

Tikki’s hand froze.

“What will?”

“Papa’s will.” Marinette sniffed, wiping her eyes. “It says that I’m under her guardianship until I marry. Her sole guardianship. Which means she can do anything she wants with me. She  _ owns _ me, Tikki! She uses me. I’m no daughter to her, I’m a slave she’s run into the ground time and time again. All because Papa wanted it. I don’t know why he would do that. And now she’s removed the last bit of Mama I had, just out of spite. I don’t understand why she hates me so much… ”

Tikki removed her hand from Marinette’s and placed it on her charge’s shoulder. 

“Marinette, that’s… I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry you didn’t feel like you could tell me. Oh, my poor darling - what did she do?”

Marinette wiped her eyes once more and finally turned to face her nurse.

“I… I wanted to go to the festival. Just for a little while, but I wanted it so badly! I made up an old gown of Mama’s for myself, and Lila found out about it and she… she…” 

Marinette couldn’t continue. She buried her face into her hands. Tikki once again placed her arms around the younger woman, and this time Marinette just turned into her embrace. They stayed like that for several moments, then Tikki lifted Marinette’s face to face her own. 

“Marinette… I have something I want to show you. Please.”

Marinette sniffed once more and nodded. Tikki rose to her feet and offered her charge a hand to rise to her feet, but just like before, Marinette rose unassisted. Tikki once more held out a hand to her. Marinette looked at it for a moment, then shook her head. Tikki seemed to understand and simply led the way back to her little cottage. When they reached it, Marinette said in a voice once more even, though still thick with tears,

“What are we doing?”

Tikki smiled back at her kindly. 

“You’ll see.”

She led the way through the door and gestured to Marinette’s usual chair. 

“Sit down and close your eyes.”

Marinette shook her head.

“I don’t think…”

Tikki bent and placed one hand on Marinette’s for the fraction of a second, then pulled away again.

“I know you’ve been hurt, Marinette. I’m sorry I let you go through it alone instead of really confronting you about it. And now I have a confession.”

Marinette focused on her nurse, who sat down in the chair beside her.

“I knew Lila was trouble from the very start. I could tell that something would go wrong. So when she moved in, I began to move things out. Small things, but things I knew your mother would never have wanted in her possession. Do you remember that old doll she made for you? The one you named Chaton after your friend?”

Marinette nodded. Tikki rose and went to a small chest in the corner of the room. It had always been there, but Marinette had never really noticed it. Tikki now opened it and rummaged around inside before pulling out a small rag form. Marinette gasped and held out her hand for the doll. 

“You kept it? Why?”

“Because it was important to you. And to your parents. I tried to save as much as I could before I was let go and told to leave the house. And among the things I got out was something that may just turn this night around. Would you like to close your eyes?”

Marinette shook her head, but turned the other way, looking down at the little form in her hands. She heard Tikki rummaging around in another corner of the room, but didn’t turn around. Finally, she heard Tikki’s feet coming toward her and her voice saying

“You can look now.”

Marinette turned to her and gasped, the doll falling out of her grasp. Tikki was holding up a gown. Not a dress made into a gown, but a real gown. It was made red satin with black lace trim and embroidered with black designs, designed with a high collar, long sleeves and a low waist. The skirt flared out from the waist and fell in waves of crimson to the floor, meant to be worn with a wide petticoat, which Mairnette could see in the chest behind Tikki. Marinette felt herself standing up and reaching out for it. She took it in her arms and examined it with a seamstress’ eye as Tikki said

“Your mother wanted you to have this when you were old enough. She chose the fabrics when she knew she… wasn’t going to make it, and she asked me to make it for you when you were old enough. And I think it’s time you wore it tonight.”

Marinette suddenly clasped the dress to her chest, looking at Tikki with joy.

“Thank you…” was all she could say. Tikki smiled and took the dress out of her hands.

“Come on. Let’s get you to your prince.”

In a blur, Marinette found herself changed into the gown. She was shocked to find that it fit perfectly. 

“How… how did you get it to fit like this? You never measured me.”

Tikki smiled mysteriously.

“Trade secret. Now then, the hair?”

Marinette gave a little waterlogged giggle and pulled the pink ribbons out of her hair, allowing it to hang loose. 

“I don’t think Lila’s ever seen me without my hair up. This’ll be good enough for me.”

Tikki smiled at her, then turned to the chest again and pulled out a pair of long, elegant black gloves, along with the jewels Marinette had left with her that night - was it only a week ago? It felt like an eternity. She handed the gloves to Marinette, helped her to slip them on, then held out her hand with the sparkling ornaments in her palm

“Which will you wear?”

Marinette’s hand hovered over the ruby pendant, but something stopped her from picking it up. Instead, she looked down at the pink apron she had discarded and she reached into the pocket, pulling out the string of black beads Sabrina had given her the day before. 

“I’ll wear these. They’re… Sabrina isn’t to blame, and I don’t want to forget that in the moment. Plus, they go well with the dress. And they’re understated enough that no one will notice them.

She quickly slipped the beads around her neck. With a sudden realization, she suddenly looked into Tikki’s eyes. 

“Oh, I forgot! It’s a masked festival. I can use a mask to hide, too.”

Tikki just smiled and nodded.

“I thought so. I have just the thing.”

She reached back into the chest once more and pulled out a red mask studded with black jet sparkles. Marinette tied it around her hair, then frowned. 

“Let me do it.” Tikki said, coming behind her and untying it again. When she had finished, Marinette looked into the mirror and gasped. 

The effect was stunning. If she hadn’t known better, she wouldn’t have recognized the young lady in the mirror as the same one she saw in her own bedroom mirror every day. The jet in the mask drew the gaze away from her eyes, and her hair was hanging loose and waving slightly of its own accord. The beads around her neck only drew the tiniest bit of attention to her creamy white skin, and under the bottom of the mask, she could see her own natural pink cheeks, the perfect complexion without any need for powder or rouge. She turned to Tikki with tears in her eyes. 

“Thank you. Thank you, Tikki.”

Tikki just looked at her with tears in her own eyes.

“Your parents would have been so happy to see this. Now then, go on. It’s a long way to the palace from here on foot, but you might be able to find a ride.” 

Marinette smiled at her once more before walking to the door. She was just crossing the clearing toward the road when she heard Tikki’s voice calling her.

“I forgot! The shoes!”

Marinette laughed as she turned back. 

“There is no way you have shoes that are going to fit me, Tikki. Have you seen the size of my feet? They’re tiny!”

Tikki just smiled at her.

“Trust me.”

And she held out a pair of flat-heeled slippers. Marinette stared at them. If she hadn’t known better, she might have thought that they were made of moonlight, but as she looked closer, she saw that they were, in fact, made of black silk and studded with small crystals, with something about them that she couldn’t quite place. Nevertheless, she took them and rather ungracefully wobbled on one foot as she slipped one and then the other on. Then she stood there, astonished.

“How… how did you…?”

Tikki just smiled.

“And the best part is, they’ll last through anything. No scuffs, no tears, nothing. They’re indestructible. And remarkably comfortable.”

Marinette almost hugged her nurse, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do so. Instead, she smiled at her and said

“I’ll be back in a few hours. The festival ends at midnight, and I’ll need to be back before then.”

Tikki nodded.

“I love you so much. Now go on!”

And Marinette started down the path to the road.

  
  
  



	16. Chapter 16

Marinette, without even realizing her own momentum, stepped onto the road and began to walk.

She had to be dreaming. She had to. But somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew she wasn’t. She was walking down the deserted road alone - everyone else must have already gone over an hour ago. But she didn’t care. She simply hurried along, lifting her skirt gently to keep it from dragging in the dust. 

She wondered what she would say if anyone were to talk to her. The fewer people to know her true identity under the mask, the better, but who would she be instead? She had never been anyone else except for plain Marinette. Except… 

No. Surely it was too dangerous to choose  _ that _ name over every other.

She didn’t realize how close she was to the bridge until she heard the clip-clop of a horse and the rumbling of wheels. She looked up and saw a brown horse pulling a carriage coming toward her, away from the town. She kept walking, knowing that it would barely notice her, but she was shocked when the carriage came to a halt beside her. A head was stuck out from the driver’s seat and a deep voice said

“Excuse me, miss, do you need help?”

Marinette paused and shook her head with a smile.

“No, thank you. I’m just on my way to the festival.”

The bulky man at the reigns looked at her for a moment, then he set the reins on the bench, hopped down and opened up the carriage door. 

“A young woman like you shouldn’t be walking alone. Get in, I’ll drive you.”

Marinette approached cautiously, then recognized the driver in the black-and-white tunic.

“Iv—“ she suddenly stopped herself, changing her sentence quickly to prevent herself from admitting her recognition. “I’ve left all my money at home - I understood that everything at the festival was free. I can’t pay you right now.”

Ivan nodded solemnly, then gave a little smile.

“I think I can make an exception this once.”

He still held the door open for her, and she approached more bravely this time. He bowed to her as she neared the door, then looked closer at her.

“Do I know you, by any chance? You look slightly familiar…”

Marinette braced herself, but somehow, deep down, she knew that she couldn’t go wrong with her decision for her alter-ego. 

“You may or may not know me, but tonight, I’m not who I usually am. Tonight… my name is Ladybug.”

Ivan bowed even lower as she entered the carriage, smiling at her before closing the door. A moment later, she felt herself moving with the carriage, felt the turning wheels, and finally allowed her excitement to overcome her. A smile spread over her face as it suddenly dawned on her that she was going to the king’s festival in a beautiful gown, arriving in a carriage drawn by a beautiful horse, with a name no one would know. Or at least, no one but the prince, but she couldn’t expect him to remember the little girl he knew ten years ago. 

She felt her spirits lifting, and made a silent promise to herself

_ “Tonight, I am not Marinette. Tonight, I’m Ladybug. I am fearless. I am graceful. I am a grand lady for once in my life tonight.” _

She watched out the window as they entered the city and drove up to the gates of the palace, seeing the crowds of people. As they went further in, the crowds became thicker, but everywhere she looked she saw the same atmosphere. Homespun or handmade garments, children and adults alike with joyful expressions, but not a single silken or velvet outfit among them. Marinette knew that the city festival was open for all, but she was slightly disappointed by the sheer mass of people, yet not one who would have been out of place there on a normal market day.

She expected to be let out at the palace gates - the central part of the festival - and to move toward the city center and the town festival, but as she exited, a royal guard approached her and gestured for the palace gates. Marinette would have protested, but Ivan had already opened the door on that side, and she found herself leaving the carriage and mounting the steps to the open gate, babbling excuses and confused explanations all the while. Then she looked up and saw the stairs rising above her. Her heart thumped, she wanted to turn and run, but she half feared the guards might not let her leave now. 

The guard who had gestured for her to enter stayed at the bottom of the stairs, but as she climbed and approached the gate, another man stepped out and asked her quietly

“Your name, miss?”

She responded with only a slight hesitation,

“... Ladybug.”

He looked at her for a moment, then smiled and turned to the crowd beyond the gates. Then, before she could protest, he boomed in a loud voice to the assembled guests

“My lords and ladies, I present, the maiden Ladybug!”

  
  


The heads of everyone in the vicinity turned to her, then the effect spread out until it reached the farthest edges of the crowd. Everyone was staring at her. Conversations had stopped, drinks were held halfway to lips, and it was as if the whole world had turned to see this new arrival. Marinette almost turned and ran away, but instead of disdain, she saw smiles in the crowd. A group of young people in the corner seemed to be bursting with excitement, women were pointing at her gown and whispering with gleams in their eyes not of malice, but of awe. And so, she squared her shoulders and walked forward. The crowd parted for her until she came to the main platform and suddenly realized who she was about to meet. Her small gasp was almost unnoticeable as she reached the presence of the king.

He looked at her for a moment, then gave a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Welcome, Miss, er... Ladybug. Please enjoy the festival.”

And with that, he turned away. 

She moved quickly, trying to get farther away from the crowd, but before she could go far, she saw the small group from the corner running toward her, smiling and calling out for her. It consisted of five people, two young men and three young women. The leader was a pretty petite blonde girl with a pink dress that fluttered out behind her like fairy lace. Following her were a young man and a young woman, their color schemes contrasting. While he wore a coat of bottle-green with embellishments of black and red, her gown of black was embellished with green and pink - but despite the colors, they were clearly not a couple. Behind them, however, a couple walked close together - he wore all aqua, she wore a gown of white with red sleeves almost touching her skirt. More than this, she couldn’t see before the girl in pink reached her and grabbed her hand and attention. 

“It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Rose! Are you visiting from abroad - I’ve never seen you around before, right? And what about the name? Is that your real name?”

“Calm down, Rosie.” said the young woman in the black and green as Marinette quickly removed her hand from that of the girl before her. Both girls then curtseyed nicely to Marinette, the one in black and green saying quickly “Please excuse my friend, she gets excited easily. But it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Lady Alixandra, but everyone calls me Alix. This is Max.” she said, gesturing to the young man next to her, who bowed, “And these are some of our visiting guests.”

Before she could say more, the young man with the aqua coat bowed and removed his feathered hat, showing slightly black locks falling in his face. 

“Luka, My Lady. Lord Couffaine. And may I present, Princess Kagami.”

Marinette couldn’t stop herself from gaping at the girl in front of her. She wouldn’t have expected the princess to be a girl only slightly more than her own height, clearly uncomfortable in the situation, but she quickly curtsied and murmured

“A pleasure, your highness.”

The princess nodded with a small smile. Just then two other boys walked up to them. One wore a doublet of light orange, the other wore a cream coat. Marinette gasped as she saw the crown he wore in his blond hair, almost missing the introduction by Lady Alixandra.

“Your highness, I’d like to present Miss Ladybug. Ladybug, This is Lord Lahiffe and Prince Adrien.”

Marinette curtsied once more, not trusting herself to look at the boy in the cream. Instead, she turned to his companion.

“A pleasure.”

Then she finally allowed her eyes to meet those of the prince, and she only barely prevented herself from gasping again. 

His eyes were the same bright green she remembered. In her wildest dreams she had never imagined that her friend would have grown up into such a breathtaking prince. Not just his appearance, but his manner was just… it was perfect. Kind, but not overwhelming. She couldn’t speak for a moment, but he took her hand in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles. She saw that he, too, was shaking slightly as he said

“A pleasure to meet you, too, Miss Ladybug. Tell me, why that name?”

She forced herself to speak clearly and without stammering

“C-call it sentimental reasons.”

He smiled at her once more, a question in his eyes, and she noticed that he, too, was blushing just slightly. 

What was she thinking? She must have imagined it, she realized, as he said quickly

“Any particular reason not to use your own name?”

She felt herself daydreaming and cursed herself as she nodded.

“Quite a few, actually.”

He nodded back with a slight gleam in his eyes and held out a hand to her. 

“Would you care to walk with me for a few minutes?”

She hesitated for a moment before nodding, but then she saw him reach his arm forward.

He expected her to set her hand in his arm. 

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t do  _ that _ . 

And yet… Ladybug could.

She smiled, setting her arm gingerly in his, and she allowed him to lead her onward. 

  
  


Adrien couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something about this girl that caught his attention - and it wasn’t just her name. She wasn’t in the most expensive gown, she wasn’t the most confident girl in the crowd, and she certainly wasn’t the most well-off girl - he would have recognized any nobleman’s daughter at once, even behind a mask. But she was beautiful - oh, yes, she was beautiful. And even beyond that, there was something about this girl - Who was she, and what was it about her presence that made him feel so… strange? 

“Are you… are you from around here, Miss Ladybug?” he said, trying to keep his voice even. She looked up at him shyly - he rarely saw shyness in girls he associated with - as she answered lightly

“N-not exactly, but I thought I would come tonight. Quite wonderful, isn’t it?”

He nodded, trying to think of something to say, but his mind had gone completely blank. She spared him by continuing on.

“It’s kind of you to care for me, but you really don’t have to. I’m quite happy to attend to myself…”

He smiled down at her, feeling completely sure in his answer

“I can’t think of another place I’d rather be right now.”

And as he continued to walk with her through the crowds, he realized that he truly believed it - and for the first time in a week, the thought of a dark-haired girl in her tower didn’t enter his head.

As they walked, heads turned and whispers started, but he didn’t even notice. He didn’t see the looks of jealousy on the faces of other young ladies, he didn’t see the other young men chortling behind their hands or older matrons looking at them with knowing smiles. He was too preoccupied with making encouraging smalltalk while also considering the girl at his side. The name Ladybug wasn’t completely strange, he supposed, considering her costume, but he couldn’t shake off the idea that this girl might really be a ray from his past. 

He looked at her surreptitiously. True, his old friend had once had dark hair, but it was so long ago that he couldn’t remember anything else about her physical appearance. Her personality, certainly he remembered that, but her features were lost to him. He wondered if he was just reading too much into this. Surely any girl in her position would have mentioned their previous friendship, especially if she had picked the name they had always used, but so far this girl had said nothing. It was as if she was just as starstruck as he was - wait,  _ why was he starstruck _ ?

He tried hard to convince himself that he was jumping to conclusions, that this girl’s name was just a coincidence, but something in the back of his mind kept bringing him back to the same point: Something about this girl was intriguing and almost familiar. Perhaps it was the movement, perhaps it was something about her intonation, but something about this girl kept him at her side, even after they rejoined the group. 

It wasn’t until almost an hour had gone by that he noticed Princess Kagami looking at him strangely. He smiled reassuringly at her, which only caused her to look at him even more searchingly. He walked over to her, leaving the mysterious Ladybug in the company of Rosie and Alix. He stood next to her and wasn’t surprised when she linked arms with him in a way he could only classify as “friendly” and pulled him a few feet away from the group.

“You’ve made a good choice. She seems kind and understanding, as well as pretty - you’ll do well together.”

He stared at her in confusion, then his eyes widened.

“Wait, you think this is-- No, this isn’t her, I’ve never met this girl before in my life! At least, I don’t think I have. I might know her, but I don’t really know.”

Kagami suddenly looked back at Ladybug, then frowned slightly.

“Then what are you doing? You can’t keep your eyes off of her. If this isn’t the girl you were talking about, then what are you doing?”

Adrien’s eyes widened as he suddenly looked at the clock tower in the city. 

“No! I just - I didn’t mean to! No!”

He turned to Kagami with a look of panic on his face.

“I’m going to visit the girl I was telling you about this evening after the festival, she said she probably wouldn’t make it tonight. I’ll be leaving as soon as the night’s over - how could I have forgotten?! I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

Kagami nodded, still staring at him hard, but she let go of his arm and walked back to the group gathered by the edge of the crowd. Adrien watched as she looked carefully at the pretty mystery girl’s face and seemed to make her own deductions. Suddenly Adrien saw Ladybug, too, look at the clock face and her eyes widened just as his had. 

“Goodness, is that the time?”

Everyone else glanced up as well, noticing that it was half-past eleven already.

“How did it go by so fast? The festival’s almost over already?” wondered Lady Alix, turning back to the girl in red. 

But she was gone. Somehow, in the space of ten seconds, she had managed to move far enough away that no one could see her. The lady of mystery was gone. And everyone in the group noticed Adrien’s face fall as he looked around for her.

  
  


Marinette slipped around the side of the crowd, hoping that no one would notice her. Several people glanced her way, but none gave her more than a passing look. She made her way quickly to the exit, glad that there were other people also leaving early, that she was partially shielded from the prince’s group by a fountain, and grateful that she could leave the palace gates without another word to anyone. 

Then she came to the end of the stairs, stopped and mentally cursed herself. She didn’t have a carriage to get back, and she was supposed to be home in a little over half an hour!

She looked around frantically and suddenly spotted a familiar bulky figure standing by an only slightly less familiar vehicle and smiled. She’d known Ivan for several years before Lila’s arrival, and one of the many things she could always say about the gentle giant was that he was kind and dependable. Perhaps he’d been waiting for her this whole time, she thought with a pang of guilt.

She approached quickly. As she came closer to them, he and another, much smaller figure stood up as she reached them. She recognized Mylene, another girl from their little outskirt village, in a pretty dress of periwinkle cotton. While she had never had a conversation with Mylene - she had moved into the neighborhood not long after Lila - she knew from Alya that the girl was kind and sweet. She remembered Alya’s gossip about Ivan and Mylene going steady and she inwardly grinned - the match couldn’t be more perfect. The small girl smiled shyly and curtsied, saying in her customary soft tones,

“Good evening, miss. I hope you don’t mind, but we didn’t really have anywhere to go this evening, and Ivan wanted to make sure you got home safe. 

Marinette smiled right back at her.

“Why on earth would I mind? I should be apologizing to you for cutting your time short, and thanking you for staying just for me.”

Mylene’s face flushed slightly as she responded.

“That’s quite alright, miss. Neither of us is particularly fond of crowds, so we don’t mind leaving a little early.”

Marinette nodded and stepped into the carriage as Ivan held the door for her. Then he leaned in and asked

“Where would you like me to take you?”

She swallowed quickly, thinking hard for a moment, then made a decision.

“Back to where you picked me up, please. And thank you for this. I wish I could pay you back for it.”

Ivan shook his head and smiled at her.

“I don’t need any payment, miss. But thank you very much.”

Marinette thanked every lucky star she knew of as she was driven away

Adrien had searched in vain for the mysterious Ladybug. He’d asked the guards around the courtyard walls, checked inside the castle, and even thought about asking Nathalie. But before he could find any trace of her, Nathalie had found him instead and insisted that he join the royal party for the festival’s end. He was forced to stand with his father and the visiting royalty again, carefully watching the guests stream through the gates, watching for a flash of scarlet and wondering how quickly he could get away himself - and what on earth had come over him that evening. 

Finally, the last of the guests were gone and he was free to leave - until he found that Plagg had grabbed his Chat Noir cloak along with the costume, leaving him with no good method of hiding himself. He had to quickly scramble through his closet for the darkest and plainest tunic he had - another bit of time wasted that he could be spending with his own Princess. And for some reason, he was in even more of a hurry this time - why? 

At last, the coast was clear and he was able to slip out the side gate, a grey cloak over his green tunic, and made his way quickly to the shop Plagg had directed him to. Luckily, the festival in the town would be going on for much longer than that at the palace, so he was able to sneak around without being noticed. He allowed his Chat Noir grin to spread over his face as he noticed a man who was a regular visitor of the palace and watched his eyes glaze right over his prince. 

The crowds were mostly decent in the parts of town he traveled through, but just to be on the safe side he walked quickly. He knew that the law enforcement would be patrolling before long to find any drunken revelers who wouldn’t be making it home that night. And he’d had enough near misses with the law as it was - he didn’t want to be caught as himself, of all personas. 

He watched the festival around him as he walked. These people were so at ease, so clearly just enjoying a time to celebrate. Nothing to prove, nothing to mar the festivities. He doubted that most of them knew what exactly they were celebrating, and he wondered how long it had been since the last time these people were able to celebrate so grandly. Surely this wasn’t normal, the crowd was made up of honest, hard working people. Merchants, shopkeepers and tradesmen. None of them were the kind to squander their money away to impress others - all of those had been in the crowd he’d just seen leaving the palace grounds.

He looked up as he heard the clock strike the quarter. Just past midnight. He turned down another street, looking for the shop front, when he suddenly realized where he was. He looked up at a sign reading “Fu’s Pawn Shop”, suddenly remembering his previous visit here. Or rather, trip here, because they had reached it and left without actually entering the door. With a sudden clarity, he recognized this as the shop Marinette had been going to the night they had met. 

He quickly tapped on the door, using the knock he and Plagg had worked out years before, and it was only a moment before it was opened. Plagg stuck his prominent nose out and then growled at him. 

“Get in here”

The door was opened far enough for Adrien to be dragged in by the arm, then snapped shut behind him. Adrien looked around at the glitter inside before Plagg dragged him off to the back of the shop, griping all the while.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this. What kind of idiot would come up with a plan like this? Aside from a lovesick kitten, obviously. Come on, get going. Night’s not getting any younger here.”

Adrien knew that his tutor’s disgruntled demeanor was just a facade, so he simply pulled off his tunic and changed into his black ensemble in record time, responding to Plagg as he did so.

“Yeah, well, you gave me a choice, didn’t you? Talk to Kagami and go to Marinette, or just let my life go the way everyone else expects it to and never stand up for myself. So whose fault is this really?”

“I don’t know whether to be angry or proud of that argument.” Plagg said, but Adrien could see the smile he tried to hide. “Now get out of here and go see her. And don’t take all night about it, either. Short and sweet, that’s the key.”

As he was about to leave the shop, Adrien decided to act on a hunch. He moved away from the door and began looking around, Plagg muttering darkly at him as he did so.

“What do you think you’re doing? This isn’t the time to go shopping, Adrien. We’re on a deadline here - too much longer and you’ll be dodging the law as they start clearing the streets.”

Adrien waved his hand absently at his tutor as his eyes kept scanning for his target. Maybe it was a little too much to hope for, but for some reason he felt compelled to keep up his search. He walked around the small but cluttered shop, looking at every display, when he suddenly let out a whoop of success. 

“Found them! Plagg, they’re here!”

“What are you talking about? What could you possibly have found in this little pawn sho---”

Plagg froze in his tracks, looking at the ruby earrings Adrien was staring so intently at. Then he groaned.

“This is the pawn shop she was going to, isn’t it? With all her mom’s jewelry in it?”

Adrien nodded, and Plagg sighed.

“And those are probably hers, aren’t they? How you can tell, I have no idea, but sure, let’s just go with all of that.” Adrien grinned at him. Plagg kept on griping, “And now you’re thinking of some crazy romantic gesture for her, aren’t you?”

Adrien nodded again, and Plagg sighed. He stepped to his charge’s side and put his hand on his shoulder. 

“Fine. I’ll take care of it. But if you intend to pay a visit to your lady, you’d better get going now. You can’t just take them now - I’ll talk to the owner and try to get them for you later.”

Adrien threw his arms around his tutor and said quickly

“You’re the best, Plagg. I owe you big time for this.”

“You bet you do!” said Plagg, trying to disguise the fond emotion in his voice - Adrien knew that no matter how hard he tried to hide it, Plagg was a romantic at heart. “Now leave before I change my mind and drag you right back home with me!”

Adrien gave a Chat Noir smile and wink as he slipped out the door.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAIT! Before you start this chapter, I have an admission to make - I was trying to combine two chapters together for the last one, and for some reason, I didn't realize that I hadn't gotten the second chapter in correctly. So really, you only got about half of what was supposed to be posted. And it's a little important, so go back and read it! Hope you enjoy!

Marinette felt the carriage stop and she quickly stood and opened the door herself. Ivan and Mylene had jumped down to help her, but she held up a hand before they could reach her. 

“Thank you so, so much for the ride. I truly wish I could pay you back for everything, but unfortunately I don’t have my things right now. If I ever see you again, please know that I’ll repay you for all you’ve done for me tonight.”

Ivan and Mylene glanced at each other and shook their heads.

“It was our pleasure, My Lady.” said Mylene, curtsying as Ivan bowed.

“We couldn’t accept anything, Miss.” he said, handing Mylene onto the seat and jumping on himself. Before Marinette could do more than smile, they were off, the horse’s hooves fading in the distance quickly. Marinette waited until they were out of sight before slipping into the forest - luckily, it wasn’t far to the edge of the path. She knew she was cutting it close and hurried as fast as she safely could until she saw the lights of the cottage. She quickly ran across the even patch of ground and knocked on the door. 

Tikki opened it almost immediately and let her in, the smile on her face wide. 

“Well?” she said expectantly, and Marinette couldn’t help herself. She squealed and hugged herself.

“I did it!”

“I’m so proud of you! What did the prince say! Was he surprised?”

Marinette suddenly realized that she’d forgotten to mention to her nurse that she wasn’t going as herself to the festival, and she dropped her head.

“Of course not! I didn’t tell him who I really was - that would be crazy, and there were too many people around us! But I met him and talked to him all night, and he’s just as wonderful and kind as he’s always been. His friends are all so nice, too! And I met the princess, Kagami, and she’s not at all what I expected--”

Tikki interrupted with a laugh - not unkind, but not amused.

“You didn’t tell him? Marinette, wasn’t that the whole point?”

Marinette’s eyes fell as she felt her old nurse’s gaze on her, but she said defensively

“It was a wonderful night, Tikki, and I’m going back tomorrow, too! Please,  _ please _ can I go back tomorrow?”

Tikki nodded.

“I’d assumed. But for tonight, you’d better run back to the house before that--  _ woman _ makes it back before you.”

Marinette nodded and turned so that Tikki could unlace the dress, pulling the mask off of her face as she did so. She held it in her hands and looked at the jet beads threaded through, wondering how this one little scrap of fabric had made such a difference to her. For one night she had been fearless, graceful, more than herself with everyone except the prince - but really, she didn’t think anyone could blame her for that. She wondered if it was her own character shining through, or whether there really was some magic in Tikki’s gifts - or were they her mother’s? She didn’t have time to consider this heavily before Tikki was putting them all away again and she was changed into her own old skirt and blouse, apron tied on just as it had been - was it only four hours ago? 

With only a few more words spoken, Tikki let her out of the house, and Marinette ran as quickly as she dared down the path to her own house. She reached the gardens just in time, too - the rumble of carriage wheels was just reaching her ears as she opened the kitchen door and slipped herself in. Luckily, the fire was still going and she quickly put the kettle on, knowing that Lila would be asking for her customary pot of tea before she went to bed, and not knowing what the girls would ask for. Best to be prepared. 

Voices in the hall caused her to look up, and her own name being called made her jump and run down to the front door. Then she suddenly ran back and wiped her hand across the ashes on the edge of the fireplace, being careful not to burn herself. As she ran to greet her family, she wiped the ash over her face, hoping that it would look like she had been crying and wiped her dirty hands across her tears. 

Marinette forced herself to act subdued and broken as she entered to hear Lila say

“--met the most interesting woman - she told me that she had actually known one of my relatives - apparently her sister married my cousin’s half-brother, which makes us practically related! And she’s in the highest circles, she could easily afford to-”

She broke off as she saw Marinette and laughed.

“Goodness me, Marinette, whatever did you do to your face! You’re filthy. Go and wash up, and then come and help us out of these dresses. And don’t forget, you’ll need to wash them tonight so that they’re fresh for mending in the morning. And don’t forget the tea, will you, darling?”

With that, she led her daughters up the stairs without another glance at the girl by the kitchen door. Marinette spared a moment to look at her stepsisters - Sabrina was looking positively dead on her feet, but Chloé looked like the cat who had just caught a mouse. Suddenly, their eyes met and something flashed in Chloé’s. Marinette couldn’t quite tell what it was, but it wasn’t anger. It wasn’t disgust. It wasn’t even contempt, which was unusual for her eldest stepsister. Then Chloe turned and followed her mother and sister up the stairs with her customary smirk. Marinette turned and walked back into the kitchen.

She wiped the ash from her face as quickly as she had rubbed it on, hoping that she had gotten it all without a mirror, and just then the kettle sang. She quickly made up Lila’s tea tray and gritted her teeth, knowing that Lila would be positively venomous tonight. 

Unsurprisingly, she was. 

“Marinette, darling, thank you so much!” she said as she reached for the tray in her stepdaughter's arms. “I can’t imagine how boring it must have been for you here, but I hope you were able to get some well-deserved rest after all that work you did for us this evening. And to think you’re going to have to do it all again tomorrow! So sad. Well, at least you’ll have the time to rest tomorrow evening, won’t you?”

Marinette wondered if her stepmother was going to mention the dress in the attic, but she should have known better. Lila was too sneaky for that. She would never be so direct without provocation, and as far as she was concerned, she’d won. Marinette had been properly put in her place, and all was right and as it should be. 

It took everything Marinette had not to blurt out something incriminating as Lila talked about Chloé’s meeting with, and subsequent charming of, the prince. But she bit her tongue and ignored the clear provocation as she finished Lila’s toilette as quickly as possible. She tried her best to ignore the poison darts aimed at her, but was more than usually thankful as she gathered the dress in her arms before and moved on to Chloé’s room. 

Chloé was sitting before her vanity almost exactly where she had been sitting the day before, but she stood as Marinette entered. 

“There you are! Finally. Help me off with this dress, will you?”

Marinette nodded mutely and moved farther into the room, watching her stepsister turn and sweep her hair over her shoulder so that the laces could be more easily accessed. She was surprised when Chloé turned back to her after the dress had been removed and looked her dead in the eye without a trace of disdain. 

“I know what my mother did tonight. I didn’t want you to come with us, but that wasn’t right. If you’re thinking of trying again, I’ll warn you now: My mother hasn’t been that angry since I was a little girl, so for your own good, don’t do anything that might make her angry right now.”

Marinette’s jaw dropped as she looked at her stepsister.

“What?”

Chloé turned back the mirror.

“You heard me. Don’t mess with my mother right now or you’ll regret it. Consider this a… warning. But not, like, a nasty warning. I won’t tell my mother about this if you won’t.”

Marinette almost dropped the dress she was holding, but she managed to nod and squeak out 

“Th-thank you.”

Then she quickly turned and left the room before another bombshell could be dropped on her. 

Sabrina was already asleep on her bed when Marinette entered, and it took several minutes for her to cooperate with Marinette’s attempts to remove her gown. But eventually she managed it and Sabrina was curled up in a ball on the bed again. Marinette left as silently as she could, carrying three dresses with her. Her head was still reeling from Chloé’s words. 

Chloé had known about Lila’s actions? How? And why had she felt like she had to warn her stepsister? Until last week, Marinette would have assumed that her suffering at Lila’s hands was the highest form of amusement for her stepsister, or at least was nothing more than a mild inconvenience to her. What had happened to the spoiled young woman who had once lived in Chloé’s bedroom? 

She suddenly heard the clock chime half after midnight. She wondered quickly when Chat Noir would arrive, but didn’t have time to think too hard about it as she set the dresses down on the small kitchen table and grabbed her buckets, hoping that washing all three wouldn’t take all night and wondering why on earth they all had to be washed after only five hours of use. 

She sighed as she opened the kitchen door and walked over to the well in the garden, pulling the wash basin out of its nook of the house as she passed. She didn’t want to do something nice for Lila at the moment, but she wanted to show her stepsisters some sort of kindness. She reflected that for all their faults - and they may have had many over the years - her stepsisters had never really been unkind to her. Uncaring, perhaps. Unconsciously created more work, most certainly. But Sabrina had always been uncomfortable with Marinette’s abuse at Lila’s hands, and Chloé was… doing whatever Chloé was doing at the moment. Marinette couldn’t figure it out at all. 

She had one full bucket at her feet and was just pulling up her second when she heard a throat cleared behind her. She hadn’t heard a sound - not that she’d been listening at all, she would never - and consequently almost dropped the rope. She whirled around and her face lit up.

“You scared me half to death!”

“My apologies, Princess. No need for alarm, just your knight in black.”

Chat Noir reached for the rope she was holding, but she shook her head and kept pulling up the dripping bucket. Chat Noir cocked a head at her quizzically.

“What’s with all the bathwater?” he asked quietly

“Apparently formal gowns require washing after a single evening.” she said between grunts of effort “And I know for a fact that the fabric will take all night and most of the day to dry completely, so it has to be done tonight.”

She pulled the bucket off the hook and reached for the second, but he grabbed it before she could bend down, picking it up and reaching for the one she held in her right hand. She pulled it away unconsciously, quickly walking toward the house and the washbasin. He followed her, dumping his bucket in after hers. Then he stepped beside her and they walked back to the well without a word exchanged. The silence was hard to bear. Finally, as they reached it, he said quickly

“I see this is going to take a while. Why don’t you let me do this?”

She shook her head with a smile.

“You came to talk to me, not to do my chores. I’m fine, I’ll do it.”

She was about to attach the first bucket to the hook again, but he grabbed it.

“I’m not doing your chores. I’m helping you. There’s a difference.”

She shook her head harder, her breath catching and her eyes darting around, looking for an escape. 

“I can’t. If Lila finds out--”

“She’s inside the house - on the other side, if I recall the noise of that bell correctly. You can’t do all this yourself, you’ll be up all night. At least let me help you.”

She shook her head, bent down toward the ground, not trusting herself to look at him, and then she stopped and swallowed hard before nodding once.

“Sure. Help. That’s… fine, I guess.”

She quickly hooked the bucket in place and filled it, dragging it up on her own despite the clear offer from the man at her side. When it reached the top, she pulled it forward and began to run toward the wash basin without another word to him. She wondered what was going on with her. Their effortless interactions of the last few visits had suddenly disappeared, and instead was replaced with uncomfortable silence. She wondered whether it was her own fault, whether he was uncomfortable watching her work, whether she had said something to make him uncomfortable, but as she emptied the bucket and turned back to see him walking toward her, she saw the friendly grin he gave her and her breathing steadied a little bit. 

She must just be reading too much into this. 

Right?

They worked for several minutes to fill and empty the buckets until the wash basin was ready, then Marinette slipped inside and emerged bearing the dresses and the soap. She dropped them all into the tub and knelt down next to it, pushing her sleeves into themselves as she did so. He knelt on the other side and watched her across the basin before finally speaking.

“Is there anything I can do?”

She shook her head.

“This is a one-person job. I’ll be fine.” Another moment of silence before she finally asked “H-how was the festival?”

He suddenly seemed to pull himself out of his own head and he grinned at her as he lounged back on his hands.

“Honestly, more enjoyable than I ever expected. Though I was disappointed to see that you weren’t in attendance. I take it your stepmother--”

“Yeah.” she said quickly - too quickly. She wondered briefly whether she should tell him about her disguise, but only a moment’s consideration made her think better of the idea. He hadn’t told her anything about himself, and she suddenly could understand why he wanted to, but it was too risky.

Though why she couldn’t bring herself to tell him about Lila’s behavior, she couldn’t understand. 

“I’m sorry.” he said quietly, then in a more cheerful voice, “Would it make you feel better if I told you that it was supremely boring and that all you missed was a parade of people trying to show off to each other?”

She shook her head. 

“Not particularly, but thanks anyway. I’m assuming you were at the castle festival, then?”

She suddenly gasped and looked up at him quickly, her hands still dripping from the water.

“Wait! Don’t answer that, I’m sorry! Forget I said anything!”

“Woah woah, hey! It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I will neither confirm nor deny that I may have been in the town center all evening instead of the castle. No answers will you get from me.”

She had to laugh a little bit at his look of angelic sanctity and his mock pledge of a hand over his heart, but she knew it sounded forced.

“It was my fault for asking. Sorry.”

She turned back to the washing and pulled out the first gown. She rose to hang it, but he quickly took it out of her arms and held it away from himself to avoid the dripping. 

“Errm… where does this go?”

She really did laugh at the look of confusion on his face this time. Then she pulled it out of his hands again and walked over to the line. She hung it and stepped backwards, then squeaked and shrank back as she bumped into a form behind her. She quickly turned and saw that it was just her visitor, but her eyes were still wide as she ran back to the rest of the laundry. 

She wondered why she was so uncomfortable around him tonight. The last two times he had visited it had been almost effortless, so what had changed? And why couldn't she bring herself to tell Chat that she’d been at the festival, too? She hadn’t seen anyone there who reminded her of him, but that didn’t mean anything in particular. Why didn’t she mention it? What was it that stopped her, every time she opened her eyes to speak the words?

And on that note, why hadn’t she told the prince who she really was? They had been together most of the time she’d been there, there had been several times when she’d considered bringing it up, but just like now the words had stuck in her throat and she hadn’t been able to say it. Perhaps it was because she had been surrounded by people, because there had been a group of young people who had taken to her so quickly as someone other than herself. 

Perhaps, she realized, because with a mask, she didn’t have to be quite so broken for a few hours. 

As she reached into the tub for the second dress and saw him sit down across from her again, she searched desperately for something, anything to say that wouldn’t mention her visit to the palace. He, too, seemed to be struggling for words. She saw out of the corner of her eye that he opened his mouth several times, then shut it again each time. Finally, something came to her mind and she grasped at straws of conversation.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t go tonight. B-but I talked to Chloé after she got back and she was actually really nice to me for once. She said that she knew Lila better than me and she was going to warn me - nicely - not to get on her bad side. I guess that's a little bit of progress, right? And I was able to go see Tikki this evening, too." 

He grinned at her in almost the same way he always did, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. Was it always like this? What had gone wrong? Was it something she'd done? 

"Well, I'd say that's a good thing, Princess. And I'm sorry you couldn't come, too. It really was interesting, I suppose. And I guess you don't get to go to functions like that... ever, I’d guess." 

She shook her head with an almost natural smile.

"Apparently my mother wanted me to be presented, but she died before I was old enough and my dad never quite got around to it - his little girl growing up and all. And then Lila showed up - and you know."

He nodded sagely. 

"Marinette..." he said, then cleared his throat in discomfort. "I know we haven't known each other for long, but you do know that if you need something, I'm here to help you? It's my job, after all."

She nodded.

"That's right. The defender of the people and guardian of the kingdom, wasn't that the title?"

He laughed quietly.

"Something like that. But seriously. If there's something you want to tell me, anything at all, please feel free. I want to help you."

She forced her most carefree smile as she looked at him.

"Thanks, Chat. But I told you before, I do okay. It's not fun, but I make it through. And now I have two friends, which is one more than I had a few weeks ago."

She failed to see the look in his eyes. A look that would have told her right away that he didn't believe a word she was saying. There was a soft fury behind the look, something that didn’t bode well for the author of Marinette’ unhappy life. But his voice was calm and reassuring as he said

"All the same. My offer always stands. Anytime."

"Well, since you only ever show up at night, I'm not sure that works too well. How am I supposed to reach you if you're not Chat Noir all the time?"

He looked like he was about to answer when she cut him off.

"No! Forget I said anything. Sorry."

She finished the second dress and lifted it out of the water, but he took it out of her hands again and walked right over to the line, hanging it like she had hung the first. She watched him, wondering why he had come tonight of all nights. She hadn't intended to think about it, but the more she thought about it the more she was almost positive that he had been at the palace festival, he must have been. So why would a boy who could be hobnobbing with the elite come and spend his precious time with a girl like her? 

Meanwhile, Adrien was cursing himself inwardly and wondering why he was so uncomfortable tonight. It wasn't like anything had changed between them. But he realized that in fact, something had changed. 

He may have joked about it over the years, but he had never really expected Ladybug to walk back into his life, and he really was wondering if that mysterious girl from the festival was in fact the little girl he had met all those years ago. He wondered if she even remembered him. It had been a long time ago, and he had almost forgotten her a few times. Until tonight, she had been a wonderful memory and an unattainable fantasy, but now… 

He looked at Marinette, bending over the wash again, scrubbing at the last dress, and saw the same beautiful young woman he'd seen on that bridge only a week ago - how was it only a week ago, and how had she managed to capture his heart in less than half that time? He wondered how the entrance of a figure from his past had made him rethink his feelings for her - and whether his feelings had been real anyway. He'd only known Marinette for a few days, after all, and what could last if it was based on such a short amount of time? 

He had almost believed in love at first sight for a few beautiful days, but now he wasn’t so sure.

He sat down in silence and watched her across the basin, wondering how she felt about the uncomfortable atmosphere. She’d clearly been uncomfortable by the well, and their easy conversation had been lost since then. Had he done something? 

He comforted himself with the recollection that he had a surprise planned for her the next night, but he wondered whether she would want him to come back at all. He contemplated briefly whether she was disappointed to see him, but then remembered the way her face had lit up when she saw that he had arrived. What had he said to make her shut herself off from him again? 

_ “Again?” _

He realized that he'd seen that look in her eyes a few times: The look of total detachment from reality, as if the world itself was conspiring against her and the only way to prevent herself from drowning was to pretend everything was alright, or to remove herself mentally from that situation. He’d seen glimpses of it in her before, but even the loss of her mother's jewels hadn't brought around that complete and utter shift in her demeanor. A mental breakdown, certainly. But after that she had been up and going immediately. In fact, he realized that he’d never seen her not  _ doing _ . 

He wondered what that stepmother of hers had done to prevent her from going to the festival, knowing that Marinette wouldn’t have just rolled over and allowed the order to stand. His anger rose every time he thought about this mysterious, villainous stepmother, and he realized with a shock that he’d probably been introduced to her at the festival that evening and hadn’t noticed. 

Probably just as well that he hadn’t, he supposed. If he had, he might have said something he shouldn’t. And trying to explain the whole scenario at the moment would have been a nightmare - not to mention putting Marinette in possible danger, depending on the reaction of this Lila character. And not for the world would he put her in danger like that.

He cleared his throat.

“Do you think you’ll be going to bed right away, or do you think you’ll be up to a quick walk after you finish?”

She looked up in surprise, the sleeves of her blouse falling down and almost brushing the water.

“Why?”

“No reason. Just a beautiful night and even more beautiful company.”

She lowered her eyes again at that, but he saw with satisfaction that a small smirk had come over her face. She flicked a bit of water in his direction as she responded

“Smooth. And for some reason, successful. Give me a minute to finish this.”

And sure enough, less than a minute later she had finished washing the dress and was wringing it out. She didn’t even hesitate this time as he held out his arms for it, just followed him over to the line and helped him to pin it into place. Then she quickly tipped over the tub to drain, and the two of them set off walking through the overgrown garden. Apparently the movement helped to ease the tension between them, because only a few yards had gone by before Marinette asked quietly

“Tell me about the festival? I know you were at the palace festival, but you don’t have to tell me anything about yourself. Just… tell me about what happened.”

Chat Noir looked down in a bit of surprise and saw that her eyes were wide and not quite meeting his as she said quietly,

“Please?”

He smiled kindly at her and obliged quickly, telling her in great detail about the outrageous costumes, the foreign visitors, and the overbearing guests. He was careful to keep everything told from the perspective of a simple visitor, and soon he was rewarded by hearing her laugh, albeit softly, at a particularly lively description of a particularly outrageous gown on a particularly elderly and eccentric lady. Finally, he told her about the mysterious lady who had announced herself only as “Ladybug”, but he realized this might have been a mistake when her eyes darkened again and she looked resolutely where she was walking before asking. 

“What was she like?”

He wondered if something in his voice had given away his feelings, and he kept his voice completely neutral as he said

“I really don’t know. As I said, she was a complete mystery. And she disappeared before the night was over.” 

She looked like she was about to say something else, but they were almost to the kitchen window again when they heard the cuckoo clock inside striking the hour. They looked up at each other with wide eyes.

“Two in the morning!” they said in unison, then grinned. Chat Noir bowed grandly and with great pomp as he said

“I’m afraid I must go, princess. The night grows short - and for your sake, I’d recommend some sleep. If you’re going to be doing all this tomorrow again, I wouldn’t want to keep you any longer. Same time tomorrow evening?”

She nodded, sweeping him a mock curtsey as she did so.

“Indeed, good sir. It would be an honor. Thanks again for coming. I know I wasn’t particularly good company tonight, but I’m always happy to see you.”

And with that, she opened the kitchen door and slipped inside. He watched her go and waited a few moments more before turning and making his way back to the city. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Sorry for the late posting - between the holidays and work, this kind of got shoved to the sidelines. And sorry for the confusion on the last chapter - tech stuff is rough, man.   
> I should be back on Sunday with a new chapter - it's a fun one.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning was just as busy as the night before for Marinette. Lila was insisting on adjustments made to the gowns - “To make them more chic - the dowdy things were just embarrassing!” - which Marinette couldn’t yet do, since they were still drying on the line. Not only that, but there was even more cleaning and polishing to be done. According to Lila, when Marinette brought her morning tea, Chloé had caught the eyes of several wealthy gentlemen, including the prince, and the household was triumphantly awaiting their calls. Which meant that every room they might possibly see had to be dusted and scrubbed until the walls themselves shone, and this took most of the morning. By the time luncheon came around, Marinette was already exhausted from her late night and more-than-usually strenuous day. 

Her heart almost stopped beating as she was serving the plates and suddenly heard Lila introduce a new topic of conversation. This was the first time she’d seen either of her stepsisters since she’d brought them their tea that morning, but Lila was clearly repeating opinions she’d expressed several times before. She was discussing - well, monologuing - the different gentleman callers they might expect soon, but both girls were only half paying attention to her when her voice suddenly turned to one of venom.

“-and I’m sure the house would be simply crawling with visitors right now if it hadn’t been for that Ladybug girl.”

On the name, her voice changed once again, as if it physically pained her to say the syllables.

“Who was she, anyway?” Chloe asked rhetorically, her voice back to her usual bored annoyance.

“She wasn’t nobility, I’d be willing to bet on that.” Lila responded, clearly not hearing the rhetorical tone in her daughter’s voice. “But all she had to do was wear that ugly dress and gaudy mask, and every man was practically drooling over her. All she did was walk in - she grabbed the prince right away and wouldn’t let him go all night, the harpy!”

Here Chloe gave a huff, and Sabrina a muffled “Tcha!”.

“I must say, I was glad when she left.” Lila continued. “I don't think she can be trusted with the prince, especially since no one seems to know who she was!”

Marinette schooled every muscle in her body not to respond, to simply walk away. She was surprised at the effort it took. She had accustomed herself to tuning out Lila’s venomus remarks when aimed at her, but for some reason this insult against her disguise struck a different nerve. But she forced herself to finish serving with - well, perhaps not a smile, but at least a look of bland interest - and walk out of the room without saying a word. In fact, all day she kept up a more than usual air of subservience toward her stepmother whenever she had to interact with her - which was rarely. Though Marinette knew of her own secret journey, the joy of that memory faded away all too quickly here in the house, to be replaced by the vision of her mother’s ruined gown still lying in the attic, ripped to shreds without mercy.

……...

After lunch, Lila went to rest in her room for the afternoon, Chloé and Sabrina decided to go and visit friends - probably to gossip about the night before - and Marinette walked to town with her shopping basket over one arm. She strolled down the drive to the road, but she barely knew where she was going. Her thoughts, as they had been all day, were caught up in the previous night. She reached the point where Ivan had overtaken her and offered her a ride, smiling at the memory of his and Mylene’s kindness in waiting for her instead of joining in the festival. She smiled still more at the memories of the Ladies of the court running to meet her instead of running away, talking with the prince, being different from herself for just one night. She was so caught up in her own musings that, in a moment of déjà vu, she didn’t hear anyone coming up behind her until her name was called, and just like before she turned to see Alya barreling down on her. 

“Marinette! I’m glad you’re out again! I have so much to tell you!” 

Marinette grinned at her friend, knowing exactly what her old friend was going to say to her, but feigning ignorance anyway. She was intrigued to hear Alya’s point of view - in her position as local gossip, she may over-dramatize things, but she was generally reliable for the real news.

“The festival? How was it?”

“Amazing!” Alya said, without even waiting to breathe. “I got to meet the king! I didn’t think I’d be able to get into the palace festival, I thought I would just go to the citywide like everyone else, but Sabrina sent me a note yesterday afternoon and told me to meet her outside the palace and she’d get me in with her! I’m so sorry you couldn’t be there, but Lila explained to me all about your condition - I mean, you can’t stay awake after nine o’clock? How crazy is that?”

Marinette decided not to react to this as they kept walking, finding this one of Lila’s weaker lies and just mentally rolling her eyes.

“Anyway,” Alya continued, following her friend and linking arms with her, not seeming to notice Marinette’s attempt to distance herself. “Lila and Chloé were already in the gates, but Sabrina brought me in with her, and it was so wonderful! We got to meet King Gabriel, and Queen Tomoe - but she’s a little scary - and we even got to meet the prince and princess! They look so wonderful together, just like a fairy tale!” 

Marinette wondered suddenly why there was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach at this statement, but Alya was still going full steam ahead.

“But the best part of the whole evening was this mysterious visitor who came in late! Her name was announced as Ladybug, but I’m sure that was fake. And as soon as she came in, everyone looked at her, because she was the only person who’d come in for almost an hour. Oh, Marinette, she was wearing the most amazing scarlet dress, it caught everyone’s attention, but it was beautiful and not overstated, just right. And her mask! It was like a thousand black stars! She looked absolutely stunning in her red and black, like a real ladybu - hey, do you think that’s why she used that name?”

Marinette had to laugh.

“I would assume as much. What did she do? Or was she just the most well-dressed girl there?”

“But she wasn’t!” Alya was so excited she dropped her friend’s arm and skipped a couple of steps ahead of her, turning and walking backwards so that Marinette wouldn’t miss a word. “Her dress was positively understated, and she wasn’t wearing any jewels or anything. It was more her demeanor. You could tell she wasn’t used to all the attention, but she just smiled at the crowd and walked down to us. And everyone stopped to look at her! I don’t know what it was, but there was something about her that caught everyone’s attention. Even the prince’s! He escorted her around all evening, and he and his friends kept her in their group all evening, or at least until she left. I actually saw her leaving, a whole half an hour before the festival finished, and then guess what?”

Marinette shook her head, really clueless as to what might have happened after the mysterious stranger left.

“The prince started looking for her! Really! He was asking around to see if anyone had seen her, apparently she slipped out before he realized she was leaving. But what everyone’s really asking now is, will this girl change his mind about Princess Kagami? I mean, he was around this girl for two hours, and all of a sudden he was going crazy over her!”

Marinette felt her breath catch and knew that she was flushing slightly, but kept her eyes firmly fixed on the city, rapidly approaching. 

“Really? I thought the festival was an engagement party?”

“So did I! But the prince was totally smitten! I don’t know who this girl is - do you think she’s the prince’s secret love, and this was the only way for them to be together before the end? Or maybe she’s a princess in disguise from another kingdom and King Gabriel didn’t want to let her visit because of Princess Kagami? Or maybe--”

Marinette cut her friend off.

“I think you’re going a bit off the rails there, Als. Maybe she was just a normal visitor who had a nice dress?”

Alya looked at her friend patronizingly.

“Girl, you didn’t see the prince. She walked in and his face totally changed - it was as if he’d been put under a spell… Hey, I wonder if--”

Marinette laughed and tried to change the subject. 

“Okay. Who else did you see there?”

With a good will, Alya launched into an explanation of all the people she’d recognized, a topic that lasted until they had almost reached the city. Then Alya made a comment that caught her friend’s attention.

“What about Sabrina?”

Alya shrugged her shoulders.

“She just seemed more interested in the prince than I’d expected. I mean, Chloe definitely, but Sabrina? I wouldn't have pegged her as a romantic like that, but she kept trying to slip over toward his group. But I guess I can’t blame her - he’s so handsome, and perfectly princely!”

At this rather interesting point in the conversation, Marinette had to break away from her friend and go a different direction. With many blown kisses and promises to tell her all about the rest of the festival later in the week, Alya went skipping off, no doubt looking for another acquaintance to chat with. Marinette once again was split in her reaction to seeing her go. Alya was a good friend, and she wished once again for a different scenario where they could still be as close as they used to be, but Lila’s presence covered her life like a cloud and shut her off from everyone she held dear once again.

Well, almost everyone, she thought, her head filled with memories of her black-clad nocturnal visitor, and an unconscious smile on her lips. 

She wandered through the city, filling her basket with food and other items she needed, and wishing she had a few more coins. Unfortunately, the small amount she was allowed for household shopping had been mostly used up by this time on festival preparations - not that Lila would let that be an excuse. However, Marinette searched and bargained as well as she could, and ended up with a slightly meager, but altogether usable stash of supplies in her basket. She finally finished her shopping and looked up at the big clock in the city center - miraculously, she still had some time! She was wondering what she should do when she suddenly glanced around and noticed for the first time where in the city she was - only a few blocks away from the pawn shop. She gave a tiny grin that Chat Noir would have been proud of before quickly setting off, hoping she wasn’t too late. 

Reaching the shop in only minutes, she looked around surreptitiously before reaching for the door - and promptly walking right into the man coming out. She squeaked and stepped back, staring at the ground and clasping her hands around her basket.

“Pardon me, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking, excuse me--”

She was about to slip past him into the shop when his voice caught her attention.

“Please don’t worry, it was all my fault.”

Her eyes widened and she forced herself to look up and see the man standing in front of her, just to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. 

Blond hair, green eyes, kind smile. Prince Adrien was standing right in front of her. She had just crashed right into him. She was currently standing there staring at him. 

Right! Words! She had to say something - anything! 

She quickly dipped into a shaky curtsy, her hands holding the handles of her basket so tightly it was cutting into her skin.

“I-I’m so sorry, your highne--”

He quickly cut her off, smiling as he said

“Please, don’t apologize. I should have been watching where I was going.”

He stepped back, holding the door for her to enter. She was still frozen, seeing his beautiful golden hair and immaculate white shirt, and noticing the small parcel he carried in his left hand. She wondered if he had been buying jewelry for Princess Kagami - maybe an engagement ring? 

For some reason, that hurt. 

No time for that. She stepped into the shop, unable to look at him yet certain his eyes were on her, and she heard the door close behind her. She quickly stepped up to the counter where an old man watched her with interest, eyes focused not on her, but on a point just behind her head. 

This didn’t entirely surprise Marinette, since he seemed to be quite old. The small pointed beard on his chin and what little hair was left on his head were grey, and his hands were wrinkled, but his eyes were still bright and alert, if a bit out of focus, and his voice was perfectly even when he said

“Can I help you?” 

She steeled herself and said quickly and quietly

“Umm… My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I’m the daughter of an old patron of yours, Thomas Dupain?”

The man nodded, his eyes still not quite focused on her face. Marinette took a deep breath and continued over the pounding of her heart.

“I’m here about some jewelry that was sold to you by my stepmother, Lila Rossi? I’m afraid there was a bit of a mixup and she sold you some jewelry that was very precious to me - most recently a set of ruby earrings, a little over a week ago? I was wondering if there’s any chance you still have them?”

The old man’s eyes suddenly sharpened and locked on her face, watching her closely as he said

“Ruby earrings? Ah, yes. I remember them well. But I’m afraid I sold them just today, I’m terribly sorry.”

Marinette’s heart dropped and she fought to keep the smile on her face as she said

“I was afraid of that. Is there any chance you could tell me to whom you sold them? As I said, they’re very precious to me.” 

The old man looked very hard at her, then his eyes seemed to give out again and he looked still in her direction, though not quite at her. 

“I’m afraid the young person who bought the earrings particularly asked not to be identified, and I do respect the wishes of my clients. However, if you’d like, I may still have some of the other things Madame Rossi sold me earlier. Would you like to see them?”

Marinette nodded sharply, moving closer to the counter as the man slipped off his high stool. He turned out to be quite short - his head only barely came over the counter. He was just coming around the corner when Marinette heard the sound of the bell over the door, and a quick slam. Marinette whirled around, but there was no one there. 

“Did someone just…?” she asked in confusion, but the old man just smiled kindly at her.

“Just another customer. Don’t worry.”

Marinette still felt a prickle at the back of her neck as she watched him gather a few items she recognized - a small gold brooch, an emerald pendant not unlike the ruby still safely at Tikki’s, a pair of pearl earrings, and a silver charm bracelet with amethysts and sapphires dangling in beautiful filigree. Marinette looked at them sadly and touched the pendant gently, knowing that she could never afford them but glad to know where at least a few of her mother’s precious things were. 

“As you can see, it’s not much compared to what she sold me to begin with, but I hope I can help you recover what’s left.”

Marinette looked up from the glittering pile on the table with tears gathering in her eyes now, her stomach still clenched and nervous with the strange feeling of being watched. 

“I’m... sorry. I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough for one of these, let alone all of them, and I certainly don’t have it with me here, today. Thank you for taking care of them for me, but I understand completely. If you would please just make sure they’re well taken care of…”

Here, she had to stop for a moment to catch herself before she burst into tears. The old man looked at her again, then shook his head with a smile.

“I knew Thomas Dupain for a very long time, Mademoiselle Marinette. He was an honest man, and I can see that you gained that from him. I think I understand the situation, and I believe we’ll be able to work something out. Why don’t I keep these for you, and you can pay me in smaller increments? That way this can be a long-standing arrangement, and you can--”

Marinette wanted to stay and listen to his proposition, but the strangely opening door had made her nervous - what if Lila had come for some reason and seen her? What about someone who might mention it to her? She felt the walls starting to close in, her hands shaking despite the clenched grip she still held on her basket. She forced herself to interrupt the proprietor, blurting out

“I’m so sorry, I have to go!”

Then she stumbled to the door and wrenched it open, rushing into the street and toward the bridge, not stopping even long enough to notice the flash of blond hair in a side alley - or the other flash of longer blonde hair watching her from the shadows a few streets away.

  
  



	19. Chapter 19

When Marinette got back home from the capitol, she was shocked to find that Chloé and Sabrina were still out visiting their city friends and Lila was still in her room. She was mostly shocked because the clock in the main hall was striking four, and the carriage was supposed to be coming to fetch them at half-past seven. 

Which meant, if she was doing her calculations correctly, that she would be able to sneak down to Tikki’s at a quarter to eight, begin walking by the hour, and she would make it to town by just before nine. If she couldn’t catch a ride, that is. Then, still assuming she would be walking the whole way, she would have to leave by just after eleven to beat her stepfamily home. She felt an anxious turn in her stomach and mentally reminded herself that she shouldn’t get her hopes up too far - there were still several hours left for Lila to do something drastic. 

However, apparently Lila had no intention of doing anything else to her that day. After about half an hour, which Marinette spent trying and failing not to pace the kitchen floor, Lila’s bell signalled to her to come up and help her stepmother dress - which really meant lacing her into a gown far too young-looking for a woman her age, and listening to her venom barbs slipped between praises of her own and her daughter’s accomplishments and connections. 

So just more of the usual. 

She was at least glad that her stepmother was keeping up a pretense of kindness and insisting that they wear gowns they already owned for the second night. 

“After all,” she said, “No one ever pays attention to the second night’s outfits. It’s a bit like the middle sister - don’t you think, dear?”

Marinette just continued doing her stepmother’s hair, ignoring the obvious insult. Lila’s stick-straight hair was knotted and difficult to work with, but Marinette took great pains with it. She knew exactly what would happen if she pushed Lila too far tonight, and she didn’t want to take any chances. 

Then again, she realized that it might be too dangerous for her to go at all. She watched Lila’s face in the mirror as she worked, and saw the look of murder behind her expression of innocent dressing room gossip. Marinette’s stomach clenched hard as she watched, and she remembered the mysteriously slamming door from the jewelry shop. She’d almost managed to convince herself that there was almost no possibility that it could have been someone who knew her, but watching her stepmother’s face brought that feeling of panic back with a vengeance. 

She was thankful when she heard voices in the hall and Lila dismissed her to help her stepsisters with their preparations. 

Marinette had had very little interaction with her stepsisters that day - Lila had kept her running around cleaning until well after the girls had left for their town visits. Marinette decided that after her last few minutes spent helping Lila, she really needed a kind face, so she made her way to her younger stepsister’s room with a smile. 

Sabrina was reading a book on the edge of her bed, but looked up as soon as Marinette entered. 

“Marinette! I… Er, I’ll just wait here for you to be ready.”

Marinette froze for a moment in the doorway, her smile faltering. Her youngest stepsister’s tone was… It was almost like Chloé’s. It was cold, disdainful, and unkind. She forced herself to step forward cautiously into the room. 

“Sabrina… it’s me. Do you… is something wrong?”

Sabrina didn’t answer. She just kept her eyes locked on her book, only glancing up occasionally to see if her stepsister was ready for her. Marinette felt herself moving, but wasn’t doing it consciously. She felt her panic rising even higher - it was like being alone with Lila, but worse. She’d never thought that her kindhearted stepsister could be so stiff and cruel. It was a joke, it had to be. But as she watched the girl on the edge of the bed, she didn’t see a sign of her usual sunny smile or apologetic expression. Her stomach clenching and hands shaking, Marinette went through the same motions she had with her stepmother, watching for any sign of remorse in the girl in front of her. Anything that might tell her it wasn’t what it looked like, that it wasn’t something she’d done that had turned her kindhearted sister against her. But as she watched, Sabrina’s eyes just grew colder and she spoke only in the most clipped of tones. 

“Watch it! You’re pulling my hair! And be careful not to get anything smudged on my gown - it’s not cheap, you know, and you’re the one who’ll have to wash it out. 

Marinette didn’t know how she got through her younger stepsister’s toilette, but somehow Sabrina was laced into her dress and bedecked with jewels, just like last night - without any of the kind smiles or playful conversation. When she finally left the room, Marinette felt her heart pounding and looked down at her hands, seeing their uncontrollable movement. She would have gone down to the kitchen and taken a moment to compose herself, but just then the clock struck half-past six and she knew there wasn’t time. Pausing only long enough to take a few deep breaths, swallow hard, and attempt to get her trembling under control, she knocked quietly on her older stepsister’s door. 

She was surprised by the soft tone of her stepsister’s call of “Come in”, but she steeled herself even more as she opened the door. 

She was even more surprised to find the older blonde standing in front of the mirror, her white dress with black trim already slipped over her head. As she entered, Chloé turned and looked at her with something that could almost have been a smile.

“I don’t know what I did, but I tried to put it on and something popped - I didn’t want to move any more in case I broke something. Could you check it out?”

Marinette froze again as she walked across, this time shocked by the mild quality to Chloé’s words. Was there some kind of magic spell that had hit her stepsisters? It was as if their personalities had been swapped overnight. If she hadn’t had that quick conversation with Chloé the night before, she would have wondered if they’d been kidnapped and replaced at the festival. As it was, Marinette once again allowed her muscle memory to kick in for a moment until she reached her sister. 

Chloé raised her arms and Marinette felt her breath falter, felt her hands go up instinctively, but all the blonde did was point at the side of her gown and say

“Somewhere over here, I think. Check it out?”

Marinette took a deep breath and bent down to examine the dress. The problem was obvious - the black and white dress had lacing up both sides, and one side had still been tied when Chloé put it on. The top few lacing holes had popped through the fabric, leaving the ribbon hanging loosely. Marinette quickly slipped a small package out of her apron pocket - a needle and thread for just such a scenario. 

While it normally took only moments for her to repair something so minor, her shaking hands were still a hindrance and it took her several tries to thread the needle correctly. She glanced up nervously at the girl above her, but Chloé wasn’t looking at her. She was staying as still as possible - in order to minimize the likelihood of being stabbed with a needle, Marinette assumed. It took a little bit longer than usual, but soon the holes were repaired, the delicate ribbon laced through and tied close to her hip, leaving the ends out until the other side was secured. 

Marinette finally rose and checked the other side of the dress for any potential problems, but she saw nothing that might cause her stepsister to complain. Or rather, would have caused her to complain three days before. As she began to arrange the blonde hair on Chloé’s head, her own was spinning. She was hurt and still shaking from her encounter with Sabrina, but Chloé’s utter lack of venom, despite their conversation last night, was more jarring than anything. 

“D-do you need anything else?” she said quietly, trying to keep her voice even as she set her stepsister’s hair down. Chloé sat down at her vanity and reached into her jewel case. 

“A lawyer, for one thing.” 

Marinette’s head snapped up and she looked at Chloé with wide eyes.

“W-what?”

“Nothing. Would you help me with this?” she said, pulling out a silver-and-sapphire bracelet and holding it out to her stepsister. Marinette nodded and took it, wrapping it around the blonde’s slim wrist. As she did so, Chloé finally looked her dead in the eyes.

“My sister’s not an idiot. She’s just… trusting. I’m sure she’s been awful to you tonight, but she doesn’t like it any more than you do.”

Marinette’s hands faltered, but this only caused the clasp of the bracelet to link with the other side. She stepped back quickly. 

“Chloé, I--”

“You don’t like me and you don’t trust me. I get that.” her stepsister said quietly, without looking at her. “And I can’t give you any good reason to trust me now, but please believe me when I say that it wasn’t your fault, Sabrina’s just very… innocent.”

Marinette swallowed hard and blinked faster. She was trying to process this entire evening’s changes in one moment, and the only thing she knew for certain was that she didn’t understand any of it. But Chloé had turned away from her again, inspecting the silver and blue bracelet against the white of her skin, and Marinette took this as a sign that the conversation, such as it was, had ended. She walked over to the door and slipped quietly out, feeling her legs beginning to lose their balance beneath her. 

She walked as quickly as she dared back down the hall and down the flight of stairs to the kitchen. There she quickly allowed herself to collapse against a chair for a moment before moving to the sink and splashing water over her face. Away from her stepfamily, her breathing began to slow a bit and she sat on a hard wooden chair, thinking hard, her eyes fixed on the waving trees outside the window. 

She couldn’t imagine what had come over either of her stepsisters. She may not have enjoyed her life here in her own house, but at least she knew where she stood in it. Up until this morning, Sabrina was the closest thing to a friend she had in the house, Chloé treated her as an inconvenient pet who couldn’t be put out, and Lila - well, at least  _ that _ hadn’t changed.

Marinette sat there, waiting to see if any bells would ring and summon her to fix a seam or clasp a necklace, but none came. The carriage arrived to escort them back to their party of glittering ladies and gentlemen, there were voices in the hall, a slamming door, and the rattle of wheels.

Marinette was left alone in the house again. 

She couldn’t. She couldn’t go tonight. Lila was going to find out, she had to find out somehow, it was too dangerous. 

But if she didn’t?

If she could go just once more as Ladybug? She’d promised herself she’d talk to the prince, tell him who she was, where they had met and everything about herself. 

But it wasn’t her he’d be seeing. It wasn't Marinette, his old friend, it was Ladybug, the mysterious stranger who had somehow captured his heart. And would he even believe her if she revealed herself to him?

She didn’t know. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

And yet, she found herself rising to her feet and breathing deeply before walking out of the door - remembering to close it behind her this time. Perhaps it was the thought of just being near the prince, perhaps it was the memory of two hours spent truly enjoying herself in a crowd of her peers who hadn’t judged her for being who she was, perhaps it was just the determination not to let Lila win again. 

Yes, that must be it. Lila could not be allowed to win again. She had taken so much from her stepdaughter, Marinette was determined to get a bit back for herself. 

That had to be it. 

It had to. 

Because otherwise, was she just doing this for herself? 

How selfish. 

Or was it brave?

Lost in her thoughts, she made her way through the forest and to Tikki’s front door. Tikki was obviously waiting for her, because the door was opened before she had gotten close enough to knock. 

“Come on in!” she said, then looked into the younger woman’s eyes and frowned. “What is it?”

Marinette forced a smile again. 

“Sorry, just a little nervous. Don’t worry about it.”

Tikki looked at her hard as she stepped back and allowed Marinette to enter.

“You know, now that I know what’s going on at that house, I can see right through you. What did that woman do to you this time?”

Marinette shook her head.

“It wasn’t her this time, actually. It’s just… I’m not really sure if I want to go tonight. It might be too dangerous. I just have a bad feeling about it.”

“Marinette… that’s a problem. Living in the kind of environment where you’re in a constant state of fear is a problem!”

Marinette allowed a tiny laugh to escape her.

“Oh, believe me. I have more problems than that. But I guess there was one good thing - though I can’t explain what happened.”

Tikki cocked her head expectantly, and Marinette gathered her thoughts.

“Chloé’s been acting.. Weird lately. She took the blame for my taking Mama’s jewels last week, and she actually warned me last night after they got back that Lila was really angry and I shouldn’t try her. It wasn’t even malicious or anything, either. It was just… really nice of her. It’s just so strange. And I can’t help wondering when the other shoe will drop.”

Tikki nodded as she crossed to the chest and pulled out the gown once again. 

“I see. Well, doesn’t that mean there are two people on your side now?”

Marinette steeled herself and refused to allow her emotions to overcome her again. 

“Umm… actually, Sabrina kind of took Chloé’s place. For some reason she’s being… she hates me now. She wouldn’t even look at me as I was helping her this afternoon. I don’t understand it.”

Tikki set the gown on the table and began to untie Marinette’s apron.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. But have you considered that Lila might be behind Sabrina’s random personality change?”

Marinette nodded as she stepped out of her skirt and slipped her blouse off. She’d lived with Lila for two years, of course she’d thought of it. Lila could twist any situation to make herself and anyone she wished seem like a victim, and unless you were clued in on her lies you would never know the difference. It was the reason Marinette didn’t associate with any of her previous friends - and she’d once been a well-liked member of their village group. 

Tikki held up the gown and it slipped just as easily over her form as it had the night before. As if it was a dance, Marinette reached up and untied her hair as Tikki drew the mask out of the chest and held it out to her. Then Marinette tied it on quickly as her nurse pulled out the jewels once more, holding them out to her charge. 

“I know you’ll want to wear one tonight. Which one?”

Marinette’s hand once more hovered over the ruby pendant, but she once again drew her hand back without entirely knowing why. She grabbed the pearl brooch instead. 

“This one tonight.”

Then she remembered something and turned to Tikki, hoping her old nurse wouldn’t disapprove. 

“Tikki… I went to that pawn shop today. I found some of Mama’s other things.”

Tikki smiled widely.

“That’s wonderful! How much?”

“Not a lot. Just a couple of things, but it’s better than nothing. I asked the owner to--”

Tikki interrupted.

“No, how much to buy then back?”

Marinette shook her head.

“More than you or I have. The man said he might be able to work something out, but I couldn’t stay. I… I can’t afford them. I asked him to make sure they were well taken care of.”

Tikki nodded sadly and smiled. 

“Fu’s a good man, and I’ve known his assistant Wayyz for years. They’ll be well looked after.”

Marinette tried to return Tikki’s smile, but she knew it looked forced.

“The earrings were already gone, though. Someone came in and bought them today before I got there.”

Tikki tried to wrap her charge in a hug, but Marinette held out an arm to stop her once more. 

“I should go. It’s a long walk to town.” 

Tikki nodded and reached into the chest once more. This time, she pulled out a set of rose-gold slippers, their shimmer catching the firelight and almost lighting up the room. Marinette reached for them in awe, glancing behind her nurse to the chest, still standing open.

“What on earth? How do you… how many pairs of shoes do you have in there? There can’t be that much more space.”

Tikki’s mysterious smile once more accompanied her words as she stepped in front of the chest protectively. 

“Trade secret. Go on. I have a feeling you might find someone waiting for you.”

And sure enough, Marinette had just started walking down the road when she heard hooves behind her and she turned to see a familiar carriage and driver. 

“Good evening, Miss Ladybug!” Myléne said from beside him. “Would you like a ride?”

Marinette nodded and smiled, feeling her Ladybug mantle slip over her again. Something about the mask she wore made her feel different - brave and confidant, graceful and lucky. Without the mask, she could never bring herself to attend something like the festival. With the mask, she felt her insecurities slipping away with every step. 

“Thank you very much. I’d be much obliged.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, readers! Here's another chapter for you. As always, I love every comment and kudo (is that how you say that singular?) I get.   
> I hope all of you are safe and healthy - don't forget to take care of yourself during the holidays, whether you're going anywhere or not.   
> I'll be back next week with another chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

Adrien didn’t realize just how distracted he had become as he stared at the crowd until a voice behind him said quietly

“She’s not here yet.” 

Nino shook his shoulder gently and Adrien looked at him, noticing his slightly concerned expression.

“You  _ are _ looking for Ladybug, right?” Nino prompted. Adrien shook his head violently.

“No! Sorry, my head’s just a little out of it. There’s a lot going on right now.”

Nino nodded skeptically, then pulled him close and said conspiratorially

“Listen… I know you, right? We’ve been close for years, right?”

Adrien nodded.

“Then listen to me. You’ve been dreaming about this Ladybug girl for years, and all of a sudden, the moment you’re getting engaged, she just… shows up? It all sound kind of fishy, if you ask me. I know you think she’s a great girl, and you think she might be soeone you used to know, but have you ever considered that you might be reading too much into this.”

A sigh was the only answer from the prince. Nino kept trying.

“And you haven’t even proposed to the Kagami yet, right? You’ve only got one more night to do it - you should at least do it well. Don’t be  _ that _ guy to her.” 

Adrien had to physically stop himself blurting out the truth to his old friend. He didn’t like keeping secrets from him, but even one person knowing the truth about Chat Noir and his nocturnal explorations could be disastrous. 

One person besides Plagg and Marinette, of course.

And there it was again. That thought that he’d been pushing away all day, ever since that encounter at the pawn shop.  _ That _ had been quite a shock. He had known that she wasn’t just a prisoner in her home, but for some reason he hadn’t quite equated that with “running into her in broad daylight”. 

And certainly not as his alter-ego.

It had taken every bit of restraint learned from years of formal balls and stuffy smalltalk not to blurt out her name, thus ruining all of his - and her - hard work to keep his identity a secret. In that moment, he’d realized - he’d never seen her in the daylight before. Always before he had seen her under the light of the moon or lit by candles. Somehow, the sunlight made her black hair beneath her kerchief look almost blue as it caught the light, and her sky blue eyes were just as beautiful in the light of the sun. 

He didn’t know what had possessed him to follow her into the shop. He had to have gone temporarily insane, but for some reason he had silently slipped into the little room behind her, his package still held in his hand. And it hadn’t surprised him in the slightest to hear her ask for the earrings. 

Thank goodness for the perceptiveness of the proprietor. One look at his prince’s face and he’d played right along, even going so far as to apparently cover for Adrien’s hasty exit - which had come quickly when it suddenly hit him that he was, in fact, crazy. 

But that hadn’t stopped him from slipping into the alley a few doors down and waiting for her to leave the shop. Seeing her run out a few moments later, clearly distressed, he’d had to curb every impulse to step out and comfort her. And in that moment, the realization had suddenly floored him like a ton of bricks and he’d suddenly seen what Plagg had tried to warn him about, time and time again since he started his late-night visits to her. All those cryptic comments, the talk about it “hitting him”, it had all been leading to this moment when he suddenly realized exactly what he’d gotten himself into. 

Because how on earth would he be able to explain his identity to her now?

Nino jogged his arm.

“EARTH TO ADRIEN! Are you still here?”

He suddenly came back to his surroundings and nodded hard.

“Sorry, thinking. NOT about Ladybug.”

“...Right. Anyway, you look… wiped. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Adrien sighed and decided to let his old friend in on at least one of the secrets he was keeping. 

“Nino… I know I can count on you to not spread this around, right?”

Nino’s look of confused suspicion didn’t bode well, but he nodded slowly. Adrien continued quietly.

“Let’s just say that the rumors about this engagement of mine are going to be proven to be  _ greatly _ exaggerated. Kagami and I talked it over and decided that we’re going to cement this stupid alliance, but we’re not going to force ourselves to get married to do it. Especially since we’re both rather… otherwise interested. But we  _ are _ still trying to figure out how to explain it to the parents.”

Nino looked hard at him, then burst out laughing. Adrien quickly put his hand over the other young man’s mouth and glared at him.

“And if you don’t mind, this isn’t public knowledge, so don’t go spilling it to the first person you meet!”

Nino nodded and mimed zipping his lips shut, then he started looking through the crowd as they moved a few step farther into the action. Adrien decided to get his friend back for his comments about a certain red-garbed beauty, so he put a friendly arm over Nino’s shoulders and nudged his arm.

“Looking for a lady fair yourself?”

To his intense amusement, Nino’s face went slightly red and his eyes widened in shock as he disengaged himself and stepped back, laughing uncomfortably.

“No! No, w-why would you think that? I was just… You know, last night I ran into a nice girl and I was just sort of curious to see if she was coming tonight.”

“Hey, no judgement here. Who was she?”

“Oh, she’s… uh… not from around here. Err… I think she’s from the suburbs? Or maybe just outside the city? She didn’t look familiar, but we ran into each other as we were both trying to get out of the way of their royal icynesses. No offence.”

Adrien’s eyes danced.

“Like I said. No judgement here. And believe me, I’ve thought worse.”

The two laughed heartily, ignoring the shocked stares of an elderly matron and her escort who were passing. 

“But seriously,” Adrien said, schooling his face - he did enjoy teasing his friend when he got the chance. Nino was generally so easygoing and open that there wasn’t much to tease him about in the usual course of events, and Adrien intended to take full advantage of this time. “If you’re on the lookout for your lady friend, why are you hounding me for doing the same? Why don’t you go find her? The festival’s been going for almost an hour now, she’s got to be here by now.”

Nino shook his head fiercely. 

“No way. I’m sticking around so I can keep you from running after that Ladybug when she gets here. If you’re trying to not advertise this whole “no engagement”, you probably should watch yourself. I’m pretty sure you got a little bit of nasty talk yesterday as you were walking her around. So consider yourself officially warned.”

“Thanks.” Adrien said sarcastically. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

“Hey, it’s the truth. Maybe try steering a little bit away from her tonight. At least stay in a group or something”

Adrien knew this was a good call, and mentally steeled himself to be polite to her, but no more than that. Perhaps he had gone a bit far the night before - she clearly fit into their little group, he didn’t necessarily need to play the good host. And besides, he’d been able to think about his feelings all day. Along with literally running into his princess in the street. 

His mind was made up.

And then his stern resolve was promptly thrown out the metaphorical window as he heard the troubadour announce in a loud voice

“Ladies and Gentlemen of the court, Miss Ladybug!”

Somehow she had become even more graceful in the past day. Her scarlet gown was just as eye-catching, and her black hair was floating out behind her as she entered the courtyard. Her mask was still affixed to her face, the black glitter distracting from her eyes. She moved with confidence and poise, her head held high and a small smile on her face. Adrien made a move to greet her, but Nino grabbed his arm.

“Not going to happen. Let the girls get her and then we’ll join them again. Just like last night. Don’t give anyone anything to talk about.”

Sure enough, Rose didn’t waste any time running over and pulling her over to the group. They greeted her kindly, even excitedly, and Adrien looked at Nino questioningly. 

“Exactly how long are we going to just stay here and watch them?”

Nino pulled out a small pocket watch, then looked at Adrien’s face of shock and laughed.

“I’m just messing with you. Let’s go on over. We just don’t want you to be the one to greet her. Trust me on this.”

Just like the night before, Nino led his friend over to the group. Except this time, Adrien was able to walk of his own volition - the night before, it had been a bit touch and go for a time. He’d stayed standing, but Nino had needed to remind him to breathe once. 

As they joined, a young woman ran up to their group, dragging another behind her. Adrien heard his friend’s breath catch a bit, turned to see his face in an expression of lovestruck wonder, and briefly wondered which of the two his friend had his eye on. The pretty, dark-skinned girl in front quickly ran up to Ladybug and dropped down in a curtsy. She’d barely stood up before she started speaking, quickly and directly.

“It’s an honor to meet you - if you don’t mind my asking, who exactly are you?”

Ladybug’s eyes seemed to widen behind her glittering mask, and she said quickly

“I’m afraid that’s something I can’t answer.”

“Why not!?”

“Well… secrets like mine exist for a reason. That’s all I can say. But I’m afraid I don’t know your name yet.”

The girl looked a little flustered, and quickly curtsied again.

“I’m so sorry - my name’s Alya Cesaire, and this” she gestured behind her, “is Sabrina Raincomprix. We were curious to get to know you, ‘cause you’re not from around here. You don’t have to tell me if you don't want to, but… are you from out of the country? Are you a foreign princess?”

Ladybug’s laugh was surprisingly genuine - something Adrien wasn’t used to hearing at court functions. 

“No, I’m certainly not that. But I can’t tell you anything more.”

“Who made your gown?”

“I think it’s about time I asked you something - why all the questions?”

The girl, Alya, blushed a little.

“I’m sorry, was that rude? I just love to learn about people. All kinds of people!”

She suddenly looked around and noticed Adrien and Nino standing off to one side. Her eyes widened and she quickly ran to the prince, apparently having finished with her investigation of Ladybug. Adrien wasn’t sure he liked this turn of events much, and he was proven right when her first question threw him for a loop.

“Your Highness! If you don’t mind my asking, when exactly are you planning on making your big announcement?”

Adrien floundered for a moment, and thanked his lucky star as Nino came to his aid.

“I’m afraid that’s not for any of us to say or hear. It’s Miss Alya, correct?”

She nodded and smiled at him, bobbing him a noticeably smaller curtsy than either Adrien or Ladybug had received. Nino smiled right back and offered his arm. 

“May I offer you some refreshments?”

Adrien grinned after his friend as he led the pretty girl away, then turned back to the small group, noticing that the second was still standing awkwardly to one side. He smiled kindly at the short strawberry blonde as well, hoping she might join them, but she just stepped back with the usual reaction of seeing the prince - widened eyes and a small gasp. 

Of course, it was Rose who reached forward and took her hand.

“Please, come and join us! We don’t bite.”

The girl stepped forward shyly, one arm holding the other over her chest, her other hand still held in Rose’s deceptively determined grip. The pink-clad girl reached the circle with her, then turned, smiled in a friendly manner and said quickly

“Did your friend say your name was Serena?”

“Sabrina.”

Adrien suddenly remembered the name of Marientte’s younger stepsister. He looked at her closely. Sabrina wasn’t a particularly common name, and this girl certainly seemed to fit the description he’d been given of her. A little mouse of a girl, her shoulder-length light ginger hair clashing terribly with her gown of lilac. From her murmured answers to Rose’s questions, she seemed to be sweet but with little bravery. He was just thinking through the statistical likelihood of actually meeting Marinette’s stepsister when he noticed Ladybug had stepped back, surreptitiously distancing herself from the group who were still focused on the newcomer. 

Adrien quickly stepped around the group also and stood next to her, not speaking a word but watching her out of the corner of his eye. For some reason, this newcomer apparently didn’t sit well with the dark-haired beauty. He wondered what it was that had made her wary - there wasn’t anything in Sabrina’s demeanor to make anyone anxious. In fact, she seemed to be more overawed than anything. But still, Ladybug kept her distance even after Nino and Alya returned and joined the group once more. 

Upon returning, Nino took one look at the group and quickly - if gently - dropped the arm of the girl he accompanied, making his way nonchalantly to his friend and grabbing him by the arm. Then he - very subtly - yanked him away from the group.

“I thought you said you were going to not give people anything to talk about!?” he whispered violently. Adrien shook his head, whispering back in the same tone,

“I didn’t! What was I doing that might make people talk? We’ve been in a group this whole time!”

“What were you doing? You were just staring at her - not just that, but you were staring at her in a way that made it look like you were trying not to stare, which is even worse! Get a grip on yourself!”

Adrien pulled his arm away from his old friend and glared at him.

“Would you just mind your own business? It’s fine. I’m… I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I’ll get a grip on it. Just let me be for a little bit, okay?”

Nino looked at him suspiciously, but let the matter drop as he walked back to Miss Alya, who was once again questioning Ladybug. 

The two newcomers left after a time, Nino following sneakily - or in a manner he thought was sneaky - a few moments later and leaving only Rose, Marc, Alix, Adrien and Ladybug behind. Adrien felt a stab of irritation at his friend - He wasn’t being all that subtle, either. Pot and kettle, much?

Adrien glanced up at the clock, seeing the dial reading almost eleven. Still so much time. And he noticed more and more that he was turning to the pretty girl with the dark hair beside him. His thoughts went back to another dark-haired beauty, and once again his mind started racing, trying to decipher his own thoughts. 

Perhaps he was reading too much into it, but there was something about her that was familiar. Something niggling at the back of his mind, a few tiny movements that clicked in his mind - but he couldn’t for the life of him figure it out. 

Nino was right. He wasn’t going to figure it out by standing politely next to her, and he was giving people something to gossip about. Perhaps it was better for him to just leave - but as he’d proven earlier in the evening, he’d just end up watching her from afar. It wasn’t as if he could just leave the festival, either.

Then an idea struck him. It was crazy, insane, and borderline brilliant.

If no one knew it was the prince, what would there be to talk about?

He quickly made his excuses to the group and slipped around to the platform he had thankfully not had to stand on that day. Nathalie was standing behind it, orchestrating the entire evening’s entertainment. She was just dismissing a servant with a loaded tray when he tapped her on the shoulder. 

“Nathalie?”

She turned and her face softened ever so slightly.

“Yes, Adrien?”

“I’m afraid I’m not feeling well. I’m so sorry, I know it’s terribly rude, but I really don't think I’m up to any more tonight. Is there any possible way you can make my excuses to the guests?”

Nathalie looked around.

“You’re not supposed to be doing any formal meetings tonight, just general mingling. I’ll explain it to your father. Go and get sleep. Tomorrow won’t be so easy.”

Adrien flashed her a grateful smile - Nathalie might be strict and disciplinary, but she always seemed to have a soft spot for him - as he walked toward the main doors to the palace, careful to keep up the appearance of weary indisposition. He kept this up until he reached the hallway to his room, then he broke into a run.

It occurred to him only after he was already in his Chat Noir disguise that perhaps he should have told Plagg about this - his tutor might very well burst a blood vessel if he found out the young prince had snuck out in the middle of the king’s festival. But there was no way to contact him now, and it was too dangerous to leave a note. 

Ah, well. It had to happen sometime. 

With only a momentary pause to consider the possible implications, he slipped out into the hall. He watched carefully for any possible interception, but there was no one in the palace. Even the servants were gone for the moment, probably enjoying their own festival in the city center, leaving him the ability to slip out a side door, walk quickly through the garden paths - avoiding the couples who were seeking a private place to talk - and peek around the edge of the wall to the courtyard. 

A flash of red caught his eye and he saw Ladybug’s dark hair in the crowd. She was standing alone at the moment, apparently just taking in the sights of the night - he wondered briefly where everyone else had gone, but didn’t particularly care. He grinned and slipped out of the shadows, making his way toward the pretty masked girl, his own mask twisting slightly under his cocky expression. The girl’s eyes moved toward him as he approached, then locked on his and widened slightly as he bowed and held out his hand gallantly. 

“Good evening. I don’t believe we’ve met?”

“H-how do you do?”

Her voice was lowered, not quite a whisper yet quiet enough that he had to tilt his head toward her to hear it. There was a tiny tremor, something that would have gone unnoticed unless he was specifically looking for it. But he was, as it happened, and the little imperfection made him smile kindly as she curtsied. 

“Why the formality? You don’t even know my name or title - I could be just a thief who managed to sneak his way in to make his fortune.”

“I doubt that very much.” she said, voice still low, this time the trembling coming from suppressed laughter. “I imagine a thief would stay away from people like this - however tempting it might be for him. Could you imagine the shock of a pretty young belle finding out that the dashing young man who had introduced himself had also helped himself to an heirloom diamond ring?”

“Is that the reason for the distance, my Lady? Are you afraid I might snatch some fancy ring off your finger?”

“Since I don’t have any rings, I don’t feel at all concerned. Besides, wouldn’t a thief be a bit more subtle about it all?”

Chat Noir chuckled.

“Alright then, we’ve established that I am, in fact, not a thief. Now that that’s out of the way, and since I happen to already know your name due to that pompous announcer, why don’t we move on with the formalities?” He bowed deeply again and said, a little more confidence in his voice than the last time he made this declaration, “Chat Noir, at your service. And as for the lack of rings for a potential thief to take - I wouldn’t be surprised if there were several young men here who would be happy to remedy that situation.” 

Ladybug’s cheeks under her mask flushed becomingly, but her eyes gleamed with amusement.

“Quite the flirt, aren’t you? If you’re at all interested in some advice, you’re not very good at being overwhelmingly formal. So why don’t we just forget all that and talk like normal people?”

“Because I seriously doubt that you are at all normal.” Chat Noir said, then he realized exactly what he’d said and tried to fix his mistake before she could take offence. “In the most extraordinary way possible, of course.”

She just laughed a little derisively. 

“A bold statement to make about a girl you only met two minutes ago. I mean, how do you know that I’m not some international assassin, come to put an end to the reign of one of the many royals here?”

He grinned at her mischievously, enjoying their banter - the ease and wit between them as if they’d known each other for years.

“Well, if you are an international assassin, I must say you’re the fairest I’ve ever heard of. Generally assassins are supposed to be ugly middle-aged men, aren’t they?”

“And how exactly does a not-thief know so much about the hiring processes of assassins?”

“Merely a guess, my Lady. But in any case, you’re no more an assassin than I am a thief. I’m quite sure of that. May I ask where you’re from?”

She smiled a bit and looked out at the crowd.

“You’re welcome to ask, but you won’t get an answer.”

“You wound me. Not even a scrap of information?”

She looked at him in mock anger, her smile belying her glare.

“I’ve spent quite a bit of time with rather important people this evening, and not even they were able to convince me to tell. I don’t think a mere cat will be able to get it out of me.”

“A meerkat? I’m offended, Miss Bug. I am no meerkat - if anything, I am a panther, ready to defend his pack or attack those who threaten it.”

“Is that what panthers do? I really don’t know.”

Chat Noir nodded, truthfully not really knowing either, but deciding she didn’t need to know that.

“And why exactly the name “Ladybug”, by the way? Is it because of the gown?”

“For several reasons.” she said evasively. “Call it sentimental more than anything.”

He decided not to question it any further - after all, if the prince hadn’t been trustworthy enough to merit an explanation, a mere Chat Noir would never be worthy.

As they continued to talk, their banter going back and forth just as quickly, he started to notice small things about her. She seemed to bite her lip as she considered questions, she seemed to have a sense of humor that perfectly complimented his own - though he probably deserved the reproachful look he got after shocking her with a particularly insane theory of her identity and then innocently inquiring “Chat got your tongue, my Lady?”. 

All in all, he couldn’t have asked for a better evening. It was only after a long conversation that ranged over seemingly every topic but their identities that he finally glanced up and noticed the clock.

“How is it a quarter to midnight already? And here I was just enjoying myself with the most beautiful maiden here, never even noticing the passage of time.”

Ladybug turned with a gasp and looked up at the clock, then back at him, her eyes widened to their fullest extent. Through the mist of sparkling jet on her mask he was finally able to see them clearly. His own eyes widened in sudden wonder and he felt his jaw drop, but before he could say another word she had said quickly “I have to go!”, gathered her skirt quickly and run around the outskirts of the crowd and through the gates. He would have followed her, but he was still frozen where he stood. 

Everything made sense all of a sudden - and yet nothing did. It seemed impossible, it  _ had _ to be impossible, but there wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in his mind.

Because he had seen her eyes behind that mask. And they were a beautiful sky blue.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, readers! I'm posting this chapter a little earlier in the day - there's one more chapter to go before our dual posting - We're now officially in what you might call the "Act II Drama" of the story. All the threads are tangled, and there seems to be no way of untangling them. But don't worry, there will be a happy ending... or will there?
> 
> No, there will.
> 
> Anyway, I loved the comments on the last chapter - as always, I love talking with my readers, so send me your theories and suggestions and I'll reply to all of them I can!
> 
> Stay safe and stay healthy, especially around the holidays. I may lose a few followers for this, but masks really are very important, especially during the winter cold and flu season. Stay safe, stay healthy, and if possible stay home.
> 
> I love you all, and I'll be back again next week with a new chapter!


	21. Chapter 21

Marinette looked around quickly for the carriage she hoped against hope would be there again, breathing out a relieved sigh as she noticed Mylene waving at her from a few hundred feet away. She ran to the pair, who were sitting exactly the same way they had been the night before, cutting them off as they rose to their feet to greet her.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time right now. Thank you for staying for me, but I’m afraid I have to go right away! 

Ivan quickly jumped down and untied the horse, leaving her time enough to hop nimbly in and close the door behind her. She half expected to see the black-clad young man looking for her - or worse, the prince. Alya’s dramatic revelation hadn’t greatly affected her at the time, but now that the moment had come she had to resist the urge to look over her shoulder in a panic. She knew logically that the prince had been gone for over an hour, he wouldn’t be coming out just to find her - but she couldn’t help her instinctive glance behind her as the horse began to pull her away from the lights of the palace.

The only thing she saw was the crowd beginning to mill out, blocking the lights spilling out from the open gates. And then they turned a corner.

“The same place as last time, Miss Ladybug?” Ivan finally called from the front seat as they left the city limits and rumbled their way across the main bridge. Marinette stuck her head out the window carefully and called

“Yes, please. And thank you again.”

She heard an answer from Mylene, but couldn’t quite pick out the words. But the tones seemed easy enough. She let herself sit back and relax now that she was far enough away from any pursuit - although her chest was still tight and her hands still shaking. She sat back and breathed deeply, trying to allow movement of the carriage soothing her frayed nerves. 

And trying not to read into Chat Noir’s sudden appearance. 

She had no idea who he was, or why he had come as Chat Noir instead of whoever he was during the day.

She didn’t understand what it was about Ladybug that had drawn him to her.

But she did know that for some reason, he hadn’t questioned his destination, that he had approached her without hesitation and apparently without doubt. In that moment, she’d almost blurted out his name - but she’d stopped herself before she said anything to give away her identity. 

She’d been doing a lot of that today, apparently.

And apparently, he’d been quite happy to be around Ladybug. True, she hadn’t dissuaded him at all - but what was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to push him away as Ladybug and let him in as Marinette?

She had feared for a moment that he’d figured her out, that he was about to confront her about her lies and deception, but he had spoken to her quite differently than he did to Marinette. More formal, more flowery. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but for some reason this demeanor both made her anxious and filled her with a little bubble of laughter.

And another emotion in the pit of her stomach that she couldn’t quite identify. 

But then again, she hadn’t spoken to him the same way Marinette did, either. Last night Marinette had been shy and scared, afraid of saying something wrong and causing him to push her away, afraid of not saying enough and letting him think she didn’t care. But tonight, Ladybug had been bantering back and forth with him without a second thought, as if they had been acquainted for months.

Then it hit her like a sack of bricks. 

He had been  _ flirting _ with her.  _ That _ was what he had been doing, coming over to the beautiful stranger no one recognized. She wondered whether he had done it intentionally or not. 

He’d never done anything of the kind to Marinette, after all. So it must have been. 

The idea of him flirting with other girls - even if those other girls happened to be her - brought about a higher level of that unknown emotion in the pit of her stomach, almost causing her physical pain. The only thing that kept her grounded for the moment was the wheel of the carriage jolting over a pothole in the road. This brought her back from her emotional state and she breathed deeply, forcing herself to think logically.

Not for the first time, she wondered who on earth Chat Noir could be in his real life. At this point, all she knew was that he was a member of a prominent family, he attended the palace festival instead of that of the city, and that he wasn’t a fan of the royal family - or at least of the distance between the upper and lower classes.

A sudden and even more terrible thought struck her.

Was that the only reason he had stayed with a clearly lower-class girl? As she had told him the first night he visited, he could only be upper class. Was this his way of expressing his displeasure at the gulf between the two classes, by “befriending” a girl so far beneath him?

What did that say about his apparent inexplicable interest in Ladybug?

And what did that make Marinette to him - a person or just a pawn in his game? 

Before her thoughts could go any further down this spiral of madness, Ivan stopped the carriage and Marinette opened the door before he could reach it, desperate to be out of the enclosed space. He bowed to her once again as she stepped out, but she had finally had enough of it.

“Please, Ivan - don’t bow to me. I’m not someone you should show that kind of respect to - I may be a grand lady when I put this on, but I’m not so grand that everyone has to treat me like a princess… Please, don’t do this to me.”

Ivan gave a little smile of his own.

“I’m sorry miss, but I can’t. You’re a lady, and so I’ll bow to you.”

Mylene nodded from the perch above them. 

“I agree. No matter who you are in the rest of your life, to us you’re… You’re a lady who deserves our respect. Maybe you’re the same station as us, we’ll still bow to you. And we do it because we want to, not because you make us. That’s the difference.”

Marinette felt her eyes prickly, and knew that her heightened emotion was going to break any second. She forced her voice to stay calm as she said softly

“I-- Thank you. It means a lot to me. I… I’m not like this most of the time, and I don’t get a lot of curtsies directed at me in real life. So thank you.”

The two of them just smiled once more as Ivan clambered back into his seat and picked up the reigns. Then he looked down at her.

“If you wait here on the road tomorrow evening, we’ll drive you again. No question about it, no questions asked.”

Marinette nodded, knowing that her tears were coming quickly. She had lived for so long in a house with three women who wouldn’t have given her the time of day that this simple act of kindness to someone these people considered a stranger filled her with gratitude. 

“I will. I’ll see you tomorrow evening, then.”

And with that, she swept them a curtsy before slipping into the forest. 

Tikki was pacing the clearing when Marinette arrived. She looked up at the moon, which was almost at the full tonight, shining in a cloud-spotted sky, then pulled the younger girl inside.

“You’re cutting it close, Marinette. Come on, let’s get you home quickly.”

The two women barely spoke as they slipped Marinette out of the beautiful gown and back into her cotton skirt and blouse. Within minutes, Marinette was running back down the path, wary for any possible obstacles in her path. 

Somehow, luck was on her side. She managed to get back to the house and even to catch her breath before she heard the rumbling of carriage wheels. She steeled herself once more, feeling nausea at the pit of her stomach at the idea of having to spend more time with Sabrina that evening. It had taken everything she had not to leave the group entirely when her stepsister was initiated into it - but somehow, the prince had seen her distress and had come to her side and then she couldn’t have left even if she’d wanted to. While watching Sabrina and acting like nothing was between them - let alone whatever was happening with them right now - had been one of the most difficult experiences she could remember, being by the side of the prince had been one of the most thrilling. 

Then again, she’d been just as close to the prince that afternoon at the shop, and she hadn’t felt that sense of heady exhilaration. Instead, she’d felt a mixture of shock and panic. 

Perhaps it was for the best that he not make the connection between the poised girl from the festival, the awkward girl who had literally walked into him, and the little girl who had once had a child’s crush on her best friend. 

Thank goodness she’d had the foresight to prepare tea trays for each of her family members - as soon as the front door opened, Marinette heard her name being shouted by her stepmother and she quickly walked to the front hall from the kitchen. Lila looked at her with her saccharine smile.

“Marionette, darling, would you bring up some tea right away? It started to drizzle on the way back and I wouldn’t want any of us to catch a chill.”

Marinette knew that her stepmother was once again bending the truth - she’d been running through the forest herself not fifteen minutes ago, and the moon was high and bright in the sky, lighting up the night almost as well as the sun did during the day. But Lila’s lies were impossible to fight against and she didn’t feel like trying tonight, so Marinette just watched her stepmother sweep up the stairs in almost the exact same way she had the night before. Sabrina didn’t even look at her stepsister, her nose held high and her expression almost exactly that of her older sister - or rather, the expression her older sister used to carry. 

Chloé, on the other hand, just stayed where she was and looked at her stepsister steadily. It wasn’t accusatory or threatening, just searching. But still, the eye contact and scrutiny caused Marinette to swallow hard and her breathing to pick up again. 

Chloé then surprised her even more by saying quietly.

“Take your time with my tea. I don’t need it.”

Marinette’s eyes widened as she watched her third housemate walk up the stairs. Then she turned and felt herself enter her “subservient stepdaughter” persona. She resorted to her usual habit and pushed down all her confusion over Chloé’s behavior, anguish over Sabrina’s betrayal, and fear of Lila’s possible retribution if she ever found out about Ladybug’s true identity - or any of the other things Marinette suddenly remembered she was hiding from her stepmother: Chat Noir’s visits, Tikki’s little house in the woods, her visit to the pawn shop - and instead let her face stay completely neutral as she picked up her stepmother’s tea tray and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. 

Oddly enough, Lila was remarkably docile and non-threatening, all things considered. There were still the customary barbs about dust collections and lukewarm tea, but all in all Lila was almost oblivious to her stepdaughter for the time being - from her talk, Marinette gathered that she was ecstatic over her daughter’s having been introduced into the prince’s group of friends. Marinette still took the first opportunity to leave Lila for the night, afraid she might let something slip if she stayed any longer. 

She felt her pulse quicken as she walked up from the kitchen to the smaller bedroom with the tea tray in her hands. She hoped wildly that Sabrina might have fallen asleep again, that something might have happened during the night to tell her that her stepsister was innocent of whatever Lila had insisted she was responsible for. But her soft knock was answered with a curt “Come in”, and she knew she had to open the door and meet the cold green eyes inside.

Sabrina was sitting, still in her gown, on the chair in front of her vanity. If she hadn’t known better, Marinette would almost have been able to mistake her for her sister. Sabrina just stood up and waved the older girl in.

“Come on and help me out of this already! I’m exhausted.”

Marinette steeled herself even more to approach her stepsister. She reached for the laces at her back and began to work them loose, then she opened up her mouth silently.

What would she say?

_ “Did Lila tell you something?” _

_ “Did I do something wrong?” _

_ “Whatever you heard, it isn’t true!” _

But as she was working the younger girl out of the dress, she suddenly realized that it might very well have been true, whatever lie Lila had told. That was the worst part of her stepmother’s talent for deception - she could take a real event and twist it to become a completely different story, but it always still contained the one grain of truth that could never be disputed. 

That was why everyone believed her lies. 

That was why she had been able to separate Marinette from everyone in the outside world.

That was why Marinette, no matter how hard she tried, couldn’t convince herself that her stepmother was outright lying about her father’s last wish. Because no matter what, Lila never made a claim without some kind of truth to back it up.

Sabrina was silent for the rest of the time her stepsister was in the room, and Marinette’s hands were shaking by the time she was finally finished undressing and putting away the gown. She turned and looked at the strawberry blonde, opening her mouth once more, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. Sabrina’s eyes cut right through her stepsister as she walked out the door. 

Marinette wanted nothing more than to go back to her room and hide from her stepfamily, to be alone and finally be able to sit and think for more than two minutes. In the past few hours she had sustained so many shocks and unpleasant surprises, and not once had she been able to consider them long and hard. But Chloé was still waiting. And no matter how easygoing she had been in the past twenty-four hours, she had seen enough spontaneous personality changes in the house recently that she didn’t want to take her chances. So she took a few more steadying breaths as she slipped back to the kitchen and gathered Chloé’s tea tray. She noted that the tea itself was no longer any more than warm, so she quickly set the kettle over the fire in case her stepsister wanted something more. If nothing else, she might use it herself once this night was finally over. 

She walked back up the stairs for the third time this evening and knocked on Chloé’s door once more. Despite her stepsister’s earlier comment by the stairs, Marinette was surprised to hear the soft tone from inside bidding her to come in. But - thank goodness - as she opened the door, she noticed a slight steadying of her breathing. Chloé was still looking at her with the same kind of steady examination, but as like this afternoon, there was no threat in her eyes, no malice on her face. She stood up from the edge of the bed where she had been reading a large leather-bound book and turned to the side so that her stepsister could access the laces holding her dress in place. 

“D-did they hold well?” Marinette asked as she began to loosen the black ribbon. Chloé nodded.

“No problems at all.” 

Marinette nodded, noting the repaired holes and seeing nothing wrong with it. Then she opened her mouth and for some reason, her mind went blank and allowed her words to come spilling out. 

“What happened? You… you never treated me like this before. I don’t even know if you care at all about me even now. If you’re using this as a way to hurt me more, I’m going to beg you: Please don’t do this to me. You can ignore me or order me around, I don’t care anymore. Just don’t do something like this to me.”

Chloé sighed and put her arms down, turning to Marinette with a look on her face she couldn’t even identify. 

“I know I can’t give you a good reason to trust me right now. I can’t even say that I’ll be able to do anything. If my mother finds out what I’m doing, it will just get worse for you. But at least for right now, I’m going to ask you to trust me a little bit.”

Marinette turned away, swallowing hard, and so couldn’t see her stepsister’s face as she said the last word:

“Please.”

At that, Marinette froze and slowly turned around to face her sister again. She saw something in the other girl’s face that she had never seen there before. 

It was as if her stepsister was sorry.

“I can’t give you any proof right now. But I want you to know that someone’s on your side, even if Sabrina’s not.” Chloé continued, her ice blue eyes locked on Marinette’s sky blue. “And I’m not trying to hurt you. I swear on your mother’s grave.”

Marinette was still frozen where she stood, staring at the girl in front of her, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to go wrong. Then her brain engaged once more and she stumbled her way out of the room, leaving Chloé behind her, still in her gown. She rushed through the hall to the back stairs and her own room, hearing the clock in the front hall strike a quarter after one in the morning. 

She kept up her frantic pace as she ran up the stairs - she’d had a lot of practice in going up and down these stairs quickly, they didn’t tire her any more than running down the halls. She reached her own room and fumbled with the door, hands still shaking, until it finally opened for her. 

The first thing she noticed as she opened the door, her hand still clutching the handle, was that the candle was lit inside. And she hadn’t lit it. 

The next thing she noticed was the black-clad figure sitting on her bed, smiling broadly at her.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Merry Christmas, lovely readers! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope your weekend was peaceful and joyful. I can't truthfully say that I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because we're reaching what you might call the Act II Conflict and it's not pretty, but I hope you enjoyed the content of the chapter in relation to the story.
> 
> As you can tell, we're getting into some rather... interesting aspects of the story, so if at any point you'd like to continue reading the story but are becoming upset by the actual events or portrayals of it, please feel free to message me and I'll be happy to provide a quick summary of the chapter(s) you request. And if you do keep reading the main story, I will be putting Trigger Warnings in front of the necessary chapters - this story does have a happy ending, but it takes quite a lot of pain to get there. 
> 
> And on that note - the next two chapters will be published simultaneously next week, so instead of just one chapter, there will be two as of next Monday at the very latest. And I will be posting it with a minor trigger warning, mostly because I'm paranoid and don't want to cause anyone pain if I can help it. 
> 
> As always, I love the wonderful reviews and kudos and bookmarks and everything! They truly do make my day, especially when the reader is actively participating in the story itself, posing theories and ideas and asking questions - I've gotten several of those recently, and I've done my best to respond to every comment I receive
> 
> I love you all, and I'll be back next week with a double post!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I may be paranoid, but this chapter could contain mild triggers for anxiety. If at any point you want to stop reading but want to know what happens in the rest of the chapter, please feel free to PM me and I'll send you a quick overview of the chapter, no questions asked.

She didn't want to. She couldn't face him tonight. She'd been pushing away the thought of his visit, trying to convince herself that he wouldn't come, that she could just pretend for a little while longer that he hadn't been talking and joking with her - _flirting_ with her - for almost an hour without knowing it. She had thought - hoped, rather - that she could avoid him, make it all go away, but seeing him smiling welcomingly at her made it all so much more real.

She couldn't help herself. She felt her knees buckle under her and collapsed to the floor in the doorway, one hand still clutching the doorknob for dear life, the other reaching out to the floor to break her fall. Her tears came fast and she couldn't stop them. She felt rather than saw Chat Noir rush the few feet over to her, she flinched in preparation for his touch, but he didn't try to. He just sat in front of her, still just inside the bedroom, saying nothing, as if he knew instinctively that anything he said might bring her more pain.

Little did he know.

What could she even do now? If he had never spoken to her at the festival, perhaps she could have confessed and explained all, but now they had conversed for so long and she'd had so many opportunities to tell him everything. She had been a coward and had missed her chance. She hadn't told him that he was flirting with the same girl who had cried her eyes out in front of him at their first meeting. The same girl who had sat with him in the darkness of the forest, sitting and talking by a pair of headstones. The same girl who couldn't even admit to herself that she felt like waiting for him every night, hoping he might show up just so she could see him, hear his voice, know that he hadn't forgotten her.

And now she had to pull herself together and pretend she was perfectly fine, that her heart wasn't breaking.

Because how could she explain to him what she couldn't even bring herself to admit in her own head?

She felt herself instinctively drawing on every bit of strength she'd had to learn in the past two years, the ability to push her own feelings down just a little bit further so that no one could see them, no one could use them against her.

Even as she did it, she questioned herself. Chat Noir had already seen her lose her composure the first time they met, so what was it about tonight that was so different?

She knew the answer to that question before even asking it.

Because this time, it involved him.

Because if she allowed herself to think too hard about the two of them, the time they had spent together, she would have to admit that something had happened between them, that his friendship - and more? - had touched her in such a short period of time and she didn't know how to react to it. That despite her brokenness and weakness she had somehow allowed him into her heart, allowed him to get close to her, and yet knowing that if she did something wrong, he could leave her just like everyone else.

And she could never, ever tell him that his reaction to someone who wasn't just plain, scared, terrified Marinette, his interest in someone so much better than she, had proven her unspoken and unrecognized fears.

Marinette tried to conquer her emotion and stand up, tried to play it off so he wouldn't question it. She failed, her sobs redoubling as she realized she couldn't lie to him about this - but she couldn't tell him, either.

She had never considered herself a jealous person. But then, she hadn't met someone who made her feel worth the emotion in a very long time. And losing him, too, was more than she could bear, especially when she was losing him to a version of herself she could never hope to compare to.

Chat Noir didn't say a word as she gulped down her sobs, forcing herself back to composure. He didn't say anything as she finally stood up and stepped toward the small dresser - keeping her eyes fixed on anything but him. She was rooting through the top drawer, looking for her handkerchief, when he cleared his throat awkwardly behind her. She finally turned to see him smiling kindly at her and holding out a white handkerchief of his own. It was so much like their first meeting, and her eyes filled with tears once more - this time, however, she didn't allow herself to succumb. She just gave him back a watery smile and took the small scrap of cloth.

It was worn and stained from use, but it seemed to her experienced hands to be good workmanship. She could see the imprints of a design in the corner, but the thread was so faded and knotted, clearly well loved, that she couldn't make out the shape.

Not that she was trying.

She wiped her eyes delicately, then held it back out to him. He shook his head and moved to the bed, patting the space beside him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Marinette had expected this, and immediately grasped onto the only part of her emotional turmoil she could put into words. She turned away from him and walked to the window, arms held protectively over her chest.

"... It's Sabrina. She's just… today she's been absolutely awful to me. She's acting like Lila, but it's… . I thought she was better than that."

She could hear him get up off the bed, but didn't turn around to see him. Yet still, that part of her brain that was always looking for possible dangers around her told her that he was getting closer to her, approaching her from the side, reaching out a hand to touch her. She shied away quickly, and he pulled his hand back. She put her hands on the windowsill and allowed it to support her weight as she said quietly

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. It's not something you should have to worry about."

She wasn't looking at him, but something in his shifting demeanor set off every alarm she had attained in her subconscious. She felt her heart race, if possible, even faster. Her hands were holding onto the window ledge so hard that her knuckles were aching.

His next words didn't help to relieve her worries.

"Why do you assume I don't want to hear about this and help you? Why do you assume you're not worth the worry?"

His tone was sharp and harsh, the kind of tone she equated with her stepmother and Chloé, and she refused to turn and face him. Instead she turned her back and held her arms protectively over herself, trying to say something - anything.

"I… I'm…"

He cut her off and she heard him come a step closer to her.

"Marinette, do you really think I'm so dense that I'm going to believe you when you say you're okay here? I've only seen the tiniest part of what they make you do here, but I know you're not okay. Heck, the first time I met you, you were having a breakdown - which, by the way, was far overdue. You're worked to death here, you're treated like a scullery maid, and I don't know what your family's done, but thanks to them you won't let anyone near you."

Marinette pushed away from the window and tried to put as much distance as she could between them in the small room. He continued, voice raising as he spoke.

"You work day and night for nothing, you make excuses and claim you're alright, but you're not. Why do you stay here, Marinette? Why do you let yourself be treated this way?"

"I-I can't tell you."

"Why not?

"I just can't!"

"Why are you pushing away the only person in the world who seems to care about _you_?!"

Marinette slammed her hands into the wall, trying to keep her balance through her shaking and lightheadedness, black vision creeping into her peripheral and blocking him from her view. With the last of her strength she reached out and felt him not a foot away from her, blocking any route of escape. She pulled her arm back so fast that she lost her balance as she cried "Please stop!"

She couldn't go on. She felt her head spinning, her knees giving out under her, and her vision went black. She couldn't feel anything but her own body sinking.

.............. 

Slowly her breathing resumed a normal pattern and she opened her eyes, blinking to clear her vision. Her head ached even in the mild light of the candle, so she shut her eyes and just focused on her breathing. In and out, in and out, each breath feeling like an eternity. Just like she'd taught herself. Just like every other time.

Then she realized that she wasn't crumpled in a heap on the floor like every other time, but rather laid out on her hard mattress. And someone was moving around the room.

Right. Chat Noir.

She opened her eyes slowly, allowing herself to adjust gradually to the sensation, still shaking each time she breathed. Her head throbbed, but she forced herself to raise her body to a sitting position.

Or rather, she would have if her body hadn't still been too weak.

At the sound of her movement and the quick breath catch, he quickly came to the bed and knelt beside it, saying softly

"It's okay, you don't have to move."

She just took a deep breath and nodded slowly, her mind not yet up to forming words or even ideas. She felt she should be scared, shying away from him, _anything_ , but she was still unable to do anything but keep her breathing steady.

He gently sat down on the edge of the bed - the very edge, keeping several inches of space between them despite the small width of the mattress. Then he placed his arms on his knees, eyes apparently intensely interested in the floorboards. The silence stretched on for what felt like five minutes, but was probably only a few seconds before he finally broke it.

"I'm sorry."

Then he looked up at her, eyes clearly showing his distress.

"I shouldn't have pushed you. You didn't want to talk about it, and I should have realized how much it would hurt you."

She nodded again. He continued to talk, perhaps realizing (or perhaps not) that at the moment, his voice was anchoring her to where she was, preventing her from losing herself in the terrifying mess of her mind.

"I'm sorry for that, but I'm not sorry for asking the things that I did. I've really been thinking recently, and I'm worried about you. I know you don't want anyone to worry about you, but I do anyway. Every time I've seen you, you're doing something. Maybe this is weird to hear from someone who hasn't known you for long, but I can't help but think you might keep busy to distract yourself. I don't know for sure, but that's what I've seen."

Marinette closed her eyes and breathed deeply again. He seemed to take this as an answer, and kept talking.

"Like I said. I haven't known you long. But I just want you to know: you're a good person. You're a kind person. And some people are going to try to take advantage of that. But there are also people who- care about you and want what's best for you. And you don't have to be anyone but yourself to earn that."

She stiffened and hoped that he wouldn't notice, quickly raising herself in hopes of distracting him from her involuntary reaction. She sat up slowly, breathing deeply as she did so, and placed her own hands on the bed in front of her, not looking up at him.

" _People who care about you."_

She was about to answer him, to say something - anything - but before she could, a bell rang in the kitchen, echoing up to be heard through the still-open bedroom door. She recognized the imperious summons of her stepmother - she had heard it enough times to distinguish it from any other bell in the house. Chat Noir stood quickly and stepped away from the bed, eyes on the door, then he quickly looked down at her. Blue eyes locked on green for a moment, then she broke away with a sigh and began to rise from the bed.

"You should go."

She didn't intend it to come out quite so defeated as it did, but she didn't have the time to think about it or change her mind as she stood up and reached for the wall to steady herself. She knew that he had reached out for her, but she refused to turn her head to look at him, knowing that he would pull his hand back anyway. Without another word, she walked slowly out of the room and down the stairs, breathing shakily all the way.

She didn't see his expression at her words and tone. She didn't see his look of pain as he reached out for her and she didn't even react. And she certainly didn't see him slip out the door behind her and follow her silently, keeping just out of her sight and staying well away from the bedchambers he saw her approaching.

She walked quickly down the stairway and away from the kitchen toward the bedrooms, the bell still ringing as she hurried as quickly as she dared without falling over. She opened the door to her stepmother's room with a slight knock and was greeted with a scream from the bed.

"MARINETTE! What were you thinking! Pick up that dress right away - what kind of lazy, self-centered brat would leave something like that - you've got some nerve coming in here like that as if you own the place."

Marinette just stood in the middle of the room and allowed the words to rush over her, her mind blank but her determination not to let her stepmother see her pain rock hard. She stepped over to the chair Lila's gown from that night had been draped across, picked it up from the floor and set it in the wardrobe, all the time hearing her stepmother's angry tirade from the bed.

"—You're not even a true part of this family, and don't you forget it! I've seen the kind of work you do and it's completely unacceptable, even for someone as grossly unqualified as you!"

Marinette turned and looked at her stepmother once more.

"Will there be anything else, Stepmother?"

"Yes, you stupid girl! Get me more tea - I won't sleep a wink now, thanks to you and your negligence, but get it anyway!"

Marinette turned and walked out, face stony and breathing short and shallow. She walked slowly down to the kitchen, past the doorway to the tower stairs and her room.

She was well and truly down the hall and so didn't see her visitor open the door just enough for him to sneak back up the stairs to her room. She didn't see his eyes, blazing with anger and something else as he quickly reached the small candlelit attic. She didn't see his hands shaking as he quickly pulled a small box, a piece of parchment and a charcoal pencil out of his bag, still sitting by her bed.

She was two floors away and so didn't see him write something on the paper and set it on the dresser just as he had the last time, the box beside it. She was busy, slowly and carefully preparing yet another pot of tea for her stepmother, despite the ridiculously early hour of the morning, and so didn't see her visitor look around at the room once more, his eyes dark with anger and sadness, before making his way over the windowsill and down the wall - without the use of a rope.

And she was still in the kitchen, trying not to spill boiling water over herself due to her still-shaking hands, trying not to start weeping into the sugar bowl and trying to find exactly the cup Lila had insisted upon for whatever strange reason, when another figure crept up the stairs from the direction of the bedrooms, silently opened the attic bedroom door, slipped in, and looked around for any kind of evidence of a visitor.

And then deftly grabbed both the note and the box in her hand, carrying them out of the room and shutting the door behind her, leaving no trace of either visitor behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised angst, and angst you shall receive. Both this chapter and the next - which will be posted tomorrow! - will contain so much angst. I know, I hate putting out heroes through this, but it's all for a reason.
> 
> (Also, the story of my writing career is me walking away from a conversation saying "Excuse me, I have to go torture my characters")
> 
> I hope I handled the panic attack aspect of the chapter well - I don't really have much experience with them myself, all of mine have been fairly mild, all things considered, but I looked up what I didn't already know and added that to the character and how I believed it would manifest in her. I'm always very concerned about whether I might accidentally offend someone due to inaccuracies when writing things like this, so if I did, please let me know and explain what I can do differently!
> 
> Like I said, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow, and will be more of our beloved Prince and his reaction to all of this - any theories about it? As always, I love the comments and questions I get - I'm replying to all of them I can, and I wish I could answer all my guest commenters as well, truly I do.
> 
> I will be back tomorrow with another dose of pain and suffe- I mean, another chapter! ;)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't yet read the chapter I posted yesterday, don't miss it!

Adrien was expecting Plagg to be waiting for him - probably to chew him out for his idiotic stunt - but as he entered his room through the window and quickly lit the candle he always had ready, he was still shocked to see him sitting in a chair beside the desk. The man had been so completely silent that not even the sound of his breathing had given Adrien any hint of his presence. Adrien gave a clear start of surprise.

“Expecting me?” his tutor said tersely.

“Something told me you’d still be here. Are you here to chew me out for being gone so long or for taking off in the first place?”

Plagg just looked at him. No glare, no smirk. Just looking at the younger man intently and searchingly as he pointed to the chair opposite his. 

“Sit down. We have to talk.”

Adrien almost argued, then looked at Plagg again and sat down, stomach clenching even more than it had been before - which hadn’t seemed possible. But when Plagg was this serious, it was a sure sign that there was a problem.

“... What’s up?” he said finally, breaking both the silence and the eye contact. Plagg leaned forward in his chair and set his hands on his knees before taking a deep breath. 

“Adrien… Before I get into yelling at you for that idiocy - which I will, don’t you think otherwise - I want you to be completely honest with me. What do you think of Marinette?”

Adrien felt alarm bells going off in his head as he opened his mouth, then shut it again. After several seconds of seemingly endless silence, he finally managed to say quietly

“I… I really like her. She’s kind and caring, and she’s honest. I want only the best for her. And I feel like I can’t give her anything - because she won’t let me. I want to protect her and keep her safe, and maybe… just have her near me.”

Plagg’s eyes told him that this might have been the wrong thing to say.

“Is there something you’re trying to tell me, Plagg?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. You’re a smart kid, Adrien. I would have thought it would have dawned on you by now.”

Adrien nodded slowly. 

“Yeah. I know. It kind of hit me this morning. About five seconds after she hit me.”

Plagg choked.

“Excuse me?” he spluttered, trying to maintain his air of serious calm. 

“I was going to get those earrings this morning and as I was walking out, she walked in. Or rather, into me. And that’s about when it hit me.”

At this, Plagg looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel.

“And you’re only telling me about this now  _ why _ ? Adrien, I’m trying very hard to help you out with this girl who supposedly has caught your attention, but I can’t do that if you don’t tell me about these things, dang it!”

Adrien stood up and started pacing, unable to keep still any longer. He felt like he had to be moving, to be doing something. He wondered if this kind of restless energy was how Marinette felt every day. Perhaps it was, this need to be moving or else go mad.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything - I had to figure things out on my own first.” he said, walking frantically between the window and the chairs. “It’s not easy to put these kinds of things into words.”

“And what kind of things were those, Adrien? Did you finally figure out your mistakes here?”

Adrien glared halfheartedly at his tutor, but couldn’t deny the truth of his words.

“... Yeah. If I know her as Chat Noir, that makes it much more difficult to just casually mention to her ‘Hey, by the way, I’m the prince’. Not that she’d necessarily care about my title - but it wouldn’t be fair to her.”

Even though he wasn’t looking at his tutor, Adrien knew he was nodding - the silence was unbroken except for the slight shifting of cloth. He turned back to say something else, but was stopped by the expression on his tutor’s face. The kind of expression he held when his pupil was on the right track to finding a solution to a problem, but missing the obvious. 

“What? What’s that look for, Plagg?”

Plagg got up and walked to the window, one hand on the wall beside it as he faced the empty night outside.

“You got part of it. And believe me, I wish that were all of it. Because that, we can work through.”

“Plagg, will you please stop being aggravating and cryptic and just say what you mean? Your message is coming through loud and clear. I get it, I’m a stupid moron who can’t see what’s in front of his face. So just tell me already, will you?”

Plagg took a deep breath, then turned back and said quietly “Let me put it this way. You’re happy with this girl?”

Adrien nodded.

“And you wouldn’t want to hurt her?”

Another nod.

“Then I want you to put yourself into her shoes and ask yourself what she might think  _ if _ she were at the festival tonight and  _ if _ she saw Chat Noir flirting - outrageously, I might add - with a mysterious girl no one knows.”

Adrien felt his breath leave him in relief. Of all the issues his tutor might have thought of, this was one he felt he had little need for concern over.

“Actually, Plagg… I might have figured something out tonight. And I think it might answer that question for you.”

Plagg turned back to his pupil to see his eyes lit up and his fond smile once more upon his face. This surprised the older man, since he had expected almost any reaction but this. He moved back to his chair and sat down again.

“Okay, tell me the worst. What did you do on that ill-advised and idiotic jaunt of yours? And don’t tell me you followed the Ladybug.”

Adrien looked reproachfully at his tutor, then forced himself to sit down once more and put his thoughts into a rational order instead of the jumble of convictions and conclusions he had been operating under.

“I know I shouldn’t have, but there was something about Ladybug that made me so… so  _ curious _ the first night. At first it was just her name - it’s not that common, and I wanted to see for myself, but she didn’t say a word about it, so I guess it must just be a coincidence. But Nino pointed out that I was kind of being obvious about my interest in her - Not romantic, honestly! Just interested in her as a person.”

He spared a glance at his tutor, noticing his stiff frame. He swallowed hard and continued on quickly.

“Anyway, Nino said people were talking about Adrien-me being so interested in her, so I figured it would be better for me to be Chat Noir and talk to her, and maybe figure out who she was. But as she was leaving tonight, I was able to see her eyes for the first time.”

“What, were her eyes closed the rest of the time?” Plagg interrupted sardonically. Adrien glared at him in earnest.

“Of course not, but I couldn’t see them clearly until then. Plagg, I… do you think there’s a possibility they’re the same person?”

The silence in the room was almost deafening after this question. Then Plagg put his head into his hands in defeat.

"Adrien, you know I care about you as if you were my own kid. I really do. But that's got to be the stupidest possible conclusion to jump to!”

“No, listen! They have the same eye color, Ladybug always comes late and has to leave early, which might be because she has to hide that she’s coming every night! Last night when I visited her, Marinette sounded like she knew the festival well enough to understand the class differences between them, and Ladybug was kind of uncomfortable tonight because a girl came to our group - a girl who happened to have the same name as Marinette’s stepsister!”

Plagg issued his customary glare. 

“That’s all circumstantial evidence, Adrien! Aside from eye color, what do they actually have in common? From what you’ve told me, Marinette is shy, right? She’s been sheltered, doesn’t have a great homelife or a lot of social experience?”

Adrien nodded slowly, not liking the tearing down of his - admittedly wishful - theory. Plagg continued. 

“Okay. So how on earth would you explain how a shy girl like that could put on a mask and suddenly be able to make everyone stare at her and handle it like a seasoned debutante? I mean, didn’t you say she doesn’t like to be touched? Wouldn’t that then translate to a potential disguise?”

Adrien stopped. He hadn’t considered that. He thought back to the behavior of Ladybug toward Adrien the first time they’d met. Sure, she’d been a little bit flustered, but no more so than any other young girl suddenly confronted by the prince. Whereas Marinette when he’d met her that morning…

And not only that, but she hadn’t shown a sign of closer personal acquaintanceship, just bowed and scraped and tried to make a good impression on him just like every other subject.

Plagg, sensing the weakening in Adrien’s theory, marched on relentlessly.

“But that’s not the main issue. Whether Marinette is or isn’t Ladybug, you think she had some kind of inside knowledge of the festival - you said she wanted to come without her family? So what do you suppose she’ll think of Chat Noir if the only thing she sees of him outside his visits to her in the middle of the night is him flirting with another girl?"

Adrien froze. 

"I-- Really? You think she'd think that?"

Plagg put his hands on the prince’s shoulders and shook him, as if by doing so he could somehow get through to him more quickly.

"Adrien, she doesn’t know you! Either of you! You’ve been visiting her for a week - that’s not enough time to get to know a person, no matter what, and secret identities aren’t going to help the matter."

Adrien pulled away and put his head in his hands, saying quickly

"I swear, I didn't think it was Marinette when I was flirting with her, and I didn't even mean it, really I didn't!"

"You're not helping your case here, kid! If you didn't even think it was Marinette at the time, then you've just got no excuse! What kind of stupid, idiotic--"

Adrien wasn't listening. He was mentally going back over the confrontation in her bedroom. He had seen a glimpse of her face before she saw him, but hadn't thought much about it as she collapsed to the floor and started sobbing. But now that he looked back at it, he realized just how dramatic a shift her demeanor had gone through as she met his eyes. As if in a split second, something had happened to push her over the edge.

And all that had happened was their eyes meeting.

Had she really been thinking all these things that he was now thinking? Had she been picturing him as a flirt, a playboy who made a move on any girl he met?

_ Could she really think that poorly of him? _

No matter whether he was right or not, she must have seen him at the festival somehow, and she must have picked up on Chat Noir's inadvertent flirtation. He thought back to that split second where she had flinched away from him as he had tried to convince her, tried to talk her out of her life of drudgery. 

It hadn't been the same as the previous nights. She hadn't been pushing him away out of fear or instinct this time.

This time, she had done it intentionally.

The realization hit him harder than any other. Because if she was pushing him away intentionally, that meant only one thing. 

He was losing her, too. And it was all his fault. 

He felt his own breath catch and recognized his own symptoms of panic. He quickly got up and started pacing once more, desperate to move, to be doing something, knowing from personal experience that to stay still would only serve to aggravate his condition.

But the pacing didn't do anything tonight.

He didn't care that Plagg was watching him, judging him silently for his actions. He didn't care. The only thing that he could think about, the only thought in his head, was that once again he was losing someone. And this time, he knew exactly what had happened to cause it. 

This time, it was his own stupid fault. 

He reached the window and grabbed hold of the windowsill, much as Marinette had in her own room. He tried hard to think back to their conversation - such as it was, he now realized. He hadn’t intended to bring up his thoughts on her position and lifestyle, but her comment about her stepsister’s betrayal had riled him up so much that he had allowed his temper to get the better of him.

His temper. One of the only things he had inherited from his father. The temper he knew from experience was just as bad as his father’s worst fury if he allowed it to be. For years he had known about this failing of his and had done everything in his power to curb it - he sometimes allowed it to show in front of his tutor, but no one else in the castle had ever seen the prince any more than mildly irritated. 

And now he had allowed his anger to explode in front of the girl who deserved it even less than anyone. He wondered for the first time whether he might have caused her fainting spell - he’d assumed he had accidentally hit a subject that might have caused unpleasant memories and that the trigger had been related to her own experiences, but never once had he considered whether his actions might have been responsible.

But now that the thought had entered his head, he couldn’t push it away. It made too much sense. The change in demeanor as she saw him, the fainting, the tone of detachment and finality in her parting words. 

Adrien was brought back to reality by Plagg’s hand on his shoulder.

“Adrien, talk to me. What’s going on?”

Adrien couldn’t help himself. He felt like he was going crazy. He rounded on his tutor and allowed all of his pent up emotion to leave him as anger toward the older man.

“Why? Why do you care, Plagg? It’s not like this affects anything other than your sleeping patterns, because apparently I can’t be trusted to take care of myself and so you’ve decided to be my nursemaid. No, I can’t talk to you, so why don’t you just go ahead and leave me just like everyone else?!”

Plagg took a step back as Adrien did the same, aghast at his own involuntary outburst. He quickly turned away and back to the window, hands clenched tightly on the frame. He knew he was shaking and refused to show his tutor any of the weakness he felt.

All the same, he didn’t shy away from Plagg’s hand on his arm. The hand touched him lightly, then pulled away for a moment. Adrien had only enough time for a burst of anxiety, the terror that he really had pushed away his tutor for good, before he felt himself being turned and pulled into a hard embrace.

For years, Plagg had been with him through thick and thin. Adrien’s own father was cold and distant, so Plagg had long since taken over parts of the role. But well before his father distanced himself so completely from him, before his mother had been diagnosed with a sickness for which there was no cure, Adrien could remember a time when hugs were expected rather than the exception. 

Then his mother had died and everything had changed. Adrien fully believed that part of his own father had died that day, and the remaining man wouldn’t have cared if his only son had disappeared off the face of the earth. Plagg had been his only constant from the time he was seven years old - Adrien had only been able to cling to him the terrible, long-awaited day when the news was brought to him that his mother had finally passed on. Plagg had held his charge tightly and promised that no matter what, he would stay with the little boy. Adrien hadn’t thought about this memory in a long time, despite the many times his tutor and friend had held him tightly - to keep away nightmares, to bring him back from the verge of an anxiety attack, to remind him that he wasn’t alone.

This time was different. Adrien felt as if he was a little child again, grabbing onto the one thing he still had left, praying that he might be enough to keep the older man with him despite his countless other losses.

He had lost his mother, and everyone had mourned with him.

He was still losing his father every day, and no one made a mention of it in front of him, despite the gossip he occasionally heard in back corners or unfrequented hallways.

And now he was losing the only person he had met since his childhood who had made him feel the same emotion as his beautiful, kind mother. Marinette’s smile, her total acceptance of her fate, and her true kindness toward everyone who had done her harm were so much like those few precious memories Adrien had of his mother before her illness had drained her spirit as it drained her life.

He had finally found someone else so much like her and yet all her own. And now, he was losing her, too.

And no one even knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go! The second chapter for this week, chock full of angst and feelings. I know, I know, I hate torturing my characters like this, but now we finally get a little more of the emotions behind our beloved prince. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this double posting over the weekend - Next week we'll get back to our usual posting. We have some fun times coming up soon, so stay tuned! If nothing else, whatever will happen with Adrien's supposed engagement?
> 
> And thank you all for the wonderful comments you leave me, they are food for my soul in so many ways. It just warms my heart to see all of the wonderful theories and comments you have for me. Farewell, and I'll see you all next week!


	24. Chapter 24

Marinette had never before wished for cosmetics. Oh, she might have wondered idly what her face would look like when made up with her stepsisters’ fancy rouge and powder, but she’d never before really, truly wished for it. But she knew that her dark-rimmed eyes wouldn’t do her any good with her stepmother, and she was on shaky ground as it was.

While Lila had been quite mild - for her - when her stepdaughter had left her the first time the night before, prior to the terrible interview with Chat Noir, her summons in the early hours of the morning had not been so nice. Lila hadn’t even bothered to conceal her anger over whatever it was Marinette was supposed to have forgotten. Marinette couldn’t even remember what it was her stepmother had accused her of this time - was it leaving a particular candle burning, or maybe it was not hanging a dress properly? She still didn’t know. Her mind had still been entirely focused on the confrontation she had just left, the young man she didn’t want to face at the moment - but couldn’t bear to imagine just leaving her without another word.

The only part of Lila’s tirade that had come through to her still-fuzzy brain as she stood in the center of the bedroom was that her stepmother wanted  _ yet another _ pot of tea. Why she had such a desire for tea at this hour of the morning - whatever hour it was at the time - Marinette couldn’t imagine, but she wouldn’t have dared to protest that particular order even at her most composed.

And at that moment she was anything but.

Lila’s tea finished and brought up to her still-abed stepmother, she had made her way back to the attic room, hoping against hope that it wouldn’t be empty, but dreading that he might still be there. 

He wasn’t. 

She had shakily made her way over to the window and peered down, still split in her desire. If she had seen him, perhaps she would have called out to him, told him that she hadn’t meant it, that she needed him, that she wanted him back--

That thought had floored her more effectively than her fainting spell.

She had spent several hours trying to decipher her own feelings. Trying to decide whether he was as he seemed to be with Marinette or with Ladybug. Feeling betrayed, cast off, and rejected. 

And worst of all, feeling conflicted. 

Because her traitorous heart had somehow found space within itself for two. 

For years her heart had belonged to one person and one person only. Though she had long since realized how silly it was, she never really,  _ truly _ gave up on that particular hope, and the festival had been her chance to meet him again, even as just an old friend.

But through the rest of that long, sleepless night, she’d had ample time to wonder what had happened to her.

Not once, but three times in the past two days she had encountered the so-called love of her life for so many years, once even as her own self. And not a word had she said at the festival, despite several opportunities to mention it in a discrete manner no one would have found surprising.

Not only that, but she had run into him - quite literally - the day before. That had been a perfect opportunity to talk to him. It would have been simple, just a quick  _ “Oh my goodness, Chaton! It’s been a long time!” _ . But she hadn’t done it. She’d lost her nerve and lost her chance. 

For some reason, she didn’t regret it as much as she felt she should, and all night she had been wrestling with the reason why. 

It all came back to the confrontation with her visitor. 

She knew she had messed up. She had known it from the moment those last terrible words had left her mouth. But she had been too overwhelmed by emotion - and not sufficiently clear headed - to even look at him after saying it. 

She’d spent hours convincing herself that she was well rid of him, that he was a flirt who just broke her heart, that she hadn’t just lost yet another person who had brought something wonderful into her life.

And then, as soon as her mind was made up, his words would come back to her. Not the accusations he had shouted at her as he advanced threateningly toward her, not the words that had made her quake and eventually collapse, but instead the soft words he had said as he sat on the edge of her bed, conscious of the space between them as he stared down at the floor.

_ “There are also people who care about you.” _

Had she been reading too much into it, or had there been the slightest pause before the word “care”? As if he’d wanted to say something else, something very different. Very  _ real _ .

All in all, it had been a long and very sleepless night, and she knew her stepfamily wouldn’t hesitate to pounce on her appearance in the morning. Lila might not mention it directly, but she would certainly prove that she saw it, while as for her stepsisters, Marinette didn’t even know what might happen. Perhaps Sabrina would have slept off her change in behavior, maybe Chloé really did mean it when she said that she wanted her stepsister to trust her.

And maybe pigs would fly.

Sabrina’s derisive laugh and Lila’s sacherine coo of “Poor Marinette!” proved that she had no chance of seeing any pigs passing her tower anytime soon.

“What happened to you? You look like a nightmare.” Sabrina said, her face holding an expression of glee at her stepsister’s appearance. Marinette breathed deeply and moved on, not allowing her emotions to show. Lila, however, just smiled sweetly at her stepdaughter and leaned back to allow her to set the dishes on the table. This change from the vicious, terrifying woman who had screamed at her the night before would have been jarring a few days ago, but Marinette was very quickly learning to detach herself from any emotion regarding her stepfamily’s changing behavior toward her. She just went about her usual routine of setting the dishes on the table and leaving her stepfamily to take their breakfast in the lovely sunlit dining room while she took hers in the dimly lit kitchen.

She wasn’t prepared for Lila to reach out and grab her arm as she turned to leave. Marinette’s breath caught and she froze, not willing to risk aggravating the older woman, but Lila just held onto her forearm gently and  _ patted her arm _ as she turned to her daughters and said

“Now, now, Marinette’s been working hard for you two and you should be grateful to her for everything she’s given up for you. I mean, think about it. She gave up so much sleep to make those gowns for you, and now she’s stayed up and waited for us the last two nights.”

“Ugh! Much good that’s done us. I mean, with that Ladybug girl there no one even looked twice at either of us!” Sabrina complained, sounding almost exactly like her older sister at her most petulant. Lila just looked reproachfully at her daughter and said quietly

“Sabrina, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I think we need to make a few changes in the house. After all, as she has so often pointed out, Marinette is a part of this family and as such in entitled to the same kind of consideration we all have.”

At this, Marinette knew there was something very wrong happening. This wasn’t Lila’s usual facade of pretending to care about her, though heaven knew she didn’t do that often - this was something completely different. Her mind, already on high alert due to the close proximity to her stepmother, whirled into overdrive trying to decipher the hidden message behind Lila’s words. 

Before she could get very far, Lila started speaking again, and her words cut through Marinette’s focus. 

“I mean, she’s been so good about getting us to the festival, that I think it’s only fair that she have a chance to come with us tonight, don’t you?” she said, releasing her stepdaughter and looking her dead in the eyes, green meeting blue. Marinette froze. 

This had to be a trap. It had to be. This was the same woman who had, two days before, destroyed the only gown Marinette had inherited from her mother. The woman who had repeatedly put her down and had dashed every chance Marinette had of going to the festival in the first place. This was a woman who constantly threatened and used her, who regularly reminded her that she was under her stepmother’s complete control.

But if she didn’t agree, what would Lila do? What would she think if her stepdaughter turned down that opportunity of a lifetime to - ostensibly - sit alone by the fireplace?

They were all staring at her, watching her, waiting for her to jump at that opportunity. 

Marinette swallowed and looked into Lila’s hard olive eyes, Sabrina’s even harder green-blue, and finally at Chloé. Chloé met her eyes seriously and - did she really? - nodded the tiniest bit before sighing loudly and obnoxiously.

“Ugh! I can’t believe you’re actually asking us to bring her along? I mean, maybe treating her a little different won’t be that bad, we might get some decent work done around here, but what next? You’ll be asking us to do the chores for her instead, won’t you?”

Lila turned reproachful eyes on her eldest daughter, the kind that would have convinced anyone who didn’t know her, but Chloé kept talking without meeting them.

“And not to mention, Sabrina met and talked to the prince last night - what do you think he would say if she showed up tonight with a girl in rags behind her? She doesn’t even have a dress to wear - she’s an embarrassment! If you want us to make it into high society at that stupid festival, just leave her here! It’s not like she’ll understand the experience anyway, she’ll probably just walk in and make a fool of herself before we’ve been there twenty minutes. In fact, she’s so clumsy she’ll probably spill on a high lady’s gown and get us all kicked out, and then where would we be?”

Marinette felt her emotions riling up - fear, anger and confusion fought against each other for dominance. She suddenly realized her arm was now free of her stepmother’s grip and she quickly stepped out of reach from the table, watching Lila gently berating her daughter for her words and trying to decide what to do at a moment’s notice.

Then she realized that Chloé had given her a golden excuse on a silver platter. This was a test, and she was cursed if she was going to play along with Lila’s games. 

Chloé finally stopped ranting and looked up at her stepsister with a look of annoyance on her face, saying irritatedly

“Well? Do you have something to say? Why are you still here?”

Marinette drew in a shaky breath and said in a voice carefully controlled

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m afraid Chloé is right. I don’t have anything remotely nice enough to wear, and I wouldn’t want to embarrass my stepsisters in front of any of their potential suitors. And she’s also right, I would feel out of place there if I only went for one night.”

Lila stared at her stepdaughter, smiling sweetly, but with a glint in her eyes that Marinette couldn’t quite interpret. She wasn’t sure if she’d appeased or infuriated her stepmother, but something about the older woman’s manner told her that her stepmother had gotten whatever it was she wanted. And Marinette wasn’t going to question it.

“Will that be all, stepmother?”

Lila reached out for her hand again, but Marinette took a tiny step back. 

“I hope you don’t feel like we’re pushing you away, Marinette, darling, but I suppose if that’s what you really want. I mean, if you finish your chores, of course you’re welcome to join us. Now then, I think we might be in need of some more tea? This pot seems to be empty.”

Marinette nodded and picked up the empty china pot, carrying it gently down the hall as she did every day. 

She wasn’t sure exactly what had just happened, but she knew with absolute certainty that her stepmother would never be so thoughtful or even - the mind boggled at this idea -  _ kind _ without some kind of ulterior motive. While her hands were going through the motions of making yet another pot of tea, her mind was racing trying to decide what exactly her stepmother was after.

For the first time in her life, she was glad to be thinking about her stepfamily’s treatment of her. It distracted her from her sleepless night and from her endless cycle of emotions regarding her nighttime visitor. 

  
  



	25. Chapter 25

Adrien woke late that morning, his sleep disturbed by images of Marinette, flinching away from him every time he came close to her. He rolled over in bed, head aching from exhaustion, and he blearily realized that if nothing else, this would give credence to his excuse to Nathalie last night - he probably looked like he’d been hit with a brick. 

He hadn’t seen Plagg leave the room the night before. Just like when he was a small child, his tutor had stayed by his side until he was sound asleep - or what passed for it. Adrien wouldn’t be surprised if he had stayed the night in the armchair and left early in the morning. 

He suddenly looked out the window and noticed the sunlight pouring in. Normally he would have been woken up long before this, so he quickly jumped out of bed, his heart hammering already. Then he grabbed for the bedpost, lightheaded and seeing spots from the quick movement. 

_ “Sure,  _ _ that’s _ _ why I’m seeing spots” _

He thought about last night’s conversations both with Marinette and with Plagg. And for the first time he hoped dearly that the two beautiful girls he had seen the night before were just that: different. Because at some point during the night he had realized that if they truly were the same person, he had just managed to lose both of them. 

He moved more slowly toward the mirror and looked into it, seeing a figure that clearly showed his raging inner turmoil. His usually well-groomed blond hair looked almost exactly like Chat Noir’s, and his eyes were slightly rimmed by dark circles - not to mention the still slightly discernible aftereffects of last night’s tears. He moved as quickly as he dared to put himself back together, to make himself look like the prince everyone expected him to be. 

When he finally left his room and began walking toward the study to meet Plagg in their usual spot, he wasn’t entirely surprised to see Nathalie walking toward him. 

“Ah, Adrien. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Your father wants to see you for a few minutes in his personal receiving chamber.”

Adrien felt his heart rate quicken again. 

“Is something wrong?”

The look in Nathalie’s eyes told him everything he needed to know. He had known Nathalie since he was old enough to remember, and he had long since learned to interpret her signals. This one was the same he had seen when his father had found out about his private jousting lessons with Nino and his friends - it was the look that said, clear as day, that he was in trouble. 

Adrien didn’t necessarily want to think about what it was he might be in trouble for this time. His mind started racing through worst case scenarios as he walked quickly through the palace to his father’s private rooms. 

Perhaps his father had finally found out about Chat Noir and his nighttime journeys. Perhaps something had tipped him off about Marinette, perhaps he had decided that Plagg was no longer necessary and was having him removed as they spoke. 

It would have been hard for him to be more anxious as he knocked on his father’s door and heard the curt command “Enter.” 

He pushed the door open and said quietly

“Father? It’s me.”

Adrien had only been in this room a few times before - it was his father’s private sanctuary where none but Nathalie were permitted to disturb him. He looked around as he always did, surprised by the sparse nature of the room. There were three windows, one facing the river and two facing the town center, all three curtained despite the sunlight outside. The room’s furniture consisted of one chair by the fireplace and a large wooden desk with a chair on either side of it. There was only one portrait hanging on the wall, which his father now faced as he said 

“Adrien. Come in. Sit down.”

Almost single-word sentences. Not good. Adrien sat as quietly as he could, watching the back of his father’s head, still turned to him. He waited.

This was the part he hated most. The waiting. Everything awaited his father’s pleasure, he held every card in the meeting. No matter what, he would decide when the meeting would begin and end. And Adrien just had to wait. 

After what felt like ten minutes, but was probably closer to about one, King Gabriel turned around and faced his son. The look on his face didn’t help Adrien’s nerves. He could just watch as his father walked the few feet to his large desk and sat in the plain chair behind it. His eyes never left his son as he sat and placed his hands on the desk. Finally, he spoke again.

“I was speaking to Queen Tomoe this morning, Adrien. She said something rather surprising. Are you aware that you may have made a slight oversight in your interactions with her daughter?”

Adrien wanted to be thankful that his father wasn’t bringing up his alter ego, but he couldn’t be at the moment. He didn’t want to have this conversation right now, he wasn’t prepared. All the arguments he’d had going through his head were vanishing under his father’s scrutiny. He just nodded.

“I see. You were made aware of the intention of their visit, were you not?”

Another nod. Adrien wanted desperately to clear his throat, but decided against it. 

“Then do you mind explaining to me why it is that Queen Tomoe told me this morning that you were not, in fact, engaged to Princess Kagami?”

And there it was. The heart of the matter. No way of gently working up to it, no way of putting it off. His father was staring at him, blue-grey eyes not leaving his face, no matter where his son’s green ones looked. Adrien had been in this situation too many times not to know how it would end. 

He looked up at the wall and the portrait, then took a deep breath and looked at his father seriously.

“Princess Kagami and I have discussed it, Father, and we’ve each stated that we would rather secure an alliance between our kingdoms through other means. It’s mutual between us.”

As he watched his father, he could see the temper boiling up and he braced himself for an explosion. But instead, his father just kept looking steadily at him and said quietly

“I see. And you didn’t see fit to mention it to anyone because…?”

“I had intended to bring it up to you, but unfortunately I haven’t seen you since we had that discussion aside from the festival nights. That seemed a bad time to bring it up to you.” Adrien said formally, hoping his voice didn’t sound as nervous as he actually was. “I felt it would be inappropriate to discuss it with anyone else before first telling you.”

Despite his father’s deceptively even tone, Adrien could see the anger in his eyes as he said

“I see. And you didn’t feel this was something to seek me out about? You didn’t think of what this might sound like to Queen Tomoe? Did you even think about the reactions of the countries when they found out that they had been lied to?”

“I didn’t lie to anyone! Not once have I lied!” Adrien responded hotly. 

“On the contrary. You expressed an interest in Princess Kagami several years ago. I took that and began to broach the subject with Queen Tomoe at the time.”

“I was fifteen and hadn’t met any other girls, Father! That’s not fair! I was told to form an alliance with Kagami, and I did - without the marriage being necessary!”

“You don’t have that choice!” his father thundered, finally standing so violently that his chair almost fell over behind him. “You are a prince, and as such you are below your king - you will act as such. The way you’ve been behaving recently is utterly unacceptable.”

Adrien saw his father towering over him, eyes blazing and fists clenched, and something inside him snapped.

In those split seconds, his mind flashed back to the night before. Not his own confrontation with the scared girl in the attic, but the absolute terror he himself had felt at the screamed insults he had simply heard from several hundred feet away.

_ “You absolute idiot! You’re pathetic, you’ll never be a part of this family! I’ve seen the kind of work you do, and it’s completely unacceptable!” _

He had berated Marinette for putting up with her stepmother, for allowing herself to be used and pushed around, and here he was doing the same. 

Marinette. Who he had seen trying to stand up for herself, trying to do something to fix her own apparently hopeless situation. Heck, the first time he’d met her she had been trying to find her mother’s jewels and fight back against her stepmother with anything she could.

If she could do all that… 

He stood up slowly and glanced up at the portrait on the wall for the briefest of moments. Then he looked his father dead in the eye, actively allowing his temper to get the better of him for the first time in over a decade. 

“You’re accusing me of unacceptable behavior? You have spent the past twelve years shutting me out of your life, barely acknowledging my existence, and the first time I think you might be starting to care about my life, the first time you start to take an interest in me and what I want to do, it turns out you’re just using me to get what  _ you _ want, again! You’re trying to push me into marriage with a girl who doesn’t care about me any more than I care about her, just so you can feel like you won something, as if we’re part of a business agreement instead of real people! Well you know what, I’ve made my decision and she made hers - and this time you’re the one who doesn't have a choice.”

Gabriel blinked, his own wrath dying down for a moment under his son’s sudden show of defiance. Adrien was beyond furious, beyond reasonable thought for the moment, allowing the pent up thoughts and emotions of a decade to come pouring out of him in this one moment.

“I’m sick and tired of always doing exactly what you say because it’s you who’s saying it! Just because you’re a king or my father doesn’t mean you’re the controlling factor of my life! You may have lost your wife twelve years ago, but thanks to you I’ve had to grow up without either parent because you were too busy feeling sorry for yourself to think about anyone else in this entire kingdom, let alone your son! I’m done - I refuse to be a pawn in your game anymore, and I refuse to be forced to marry someone you chose specifically because she’s the opposite of Mother!”

At this, the king slammed his hands down on the desk and opened his mouth.

Then stopped. And closed it again. He leaned over his hands, still planted on the desk, and stood there in silence for a few moments. Adrien’s anger died down quickly, and was supplanted by absolute terror at the upshot of his chewing out his own father. He stepped back and began to look around the room for something, anything, to keep his eyes off of his father. 

His eyes lit once more on the portrait behind the desk, the only thing hanging on the wall. It was almost life size, the gold-covered frame ornate and intricately designed. 

The figure portrayed, on the other hand, was quite simple. It was a single woman standing in front of a dark red curtain, half pulled back to reveal a window looking out upon a beautiful garden. Her gold gown, pale skin and blonde hair standing out in stark contrast to the burgundy velvet behind her. The gown was plain, a white underskirt just peeping out from beneath the gold overlay, the collar wide and almost exposing her shoulders. The only ornamentation on her person was a string of pearls around her neck and a single pink rose in her left hand. Her blonde hair was swept over one shoulder and fell in cascades of gold over her arm, the hand grasped gently around the stem of the flower despite the possibility of thorns. 

Adrien had seen this portrait several times before, but never as often as he would have liked. He was always shocked by the way the artist had managed to convey the kindness in the woman’s face while also keeping her inner laughter plain to see. While her posture was calm and composed, her pale pink lips were curved into a tiny smile that was at once peaceful and mischievous, as if she were sharing a secret that only two people in the world knew, and her green eyes were alight and dancing with fun as she stared down into the room and the young man looking back up at her. 

Two pairs of the same green eyes met, one painted and one very much real, then Adrien looked nervously from the portrait to the man standing below it. 

Then King Gabriel finally glanced up at his son and Adrien was shocked to see the expression in his face. 

In the past, he had sometimes seen a flash of a certain expression on his father’s face. A bit of remorse, a tiny sprinkling of affection and the smallest hint of guilt. These few and far between sightings of human emotion in his father had once been the greatest moments of Adrien’s life. The reason he kept doing what his father asked him to. If he just was a bit more, a bit better, he might be able to keep that expression on his father’s face for a little bit longer. He might be enough to remind his father that though Queen Emilie was no longer there, the world still was, and so was he. 

“I think… we should both sit down.” the king said quietly, finally breaking the silence. Adrien didn’t meet his eyes as he sat down a bit heavily on the chair, the king doing the same and setting his head in his hands. Then came another bout of tense silence. Adrien didn’t know how to break it - his first reaction was to apologize for his outburst, but a voice at the back of his mind warned him against it, so he just waited for his father to speak.

But this time, it wasn’t the stiff and nerve-racking waiting of before. This time, Adrien felt uncomfortably like the cards were suddenly dealt to him, and he had no idea how to use them. He wondered what was going through his father’s head at the moment. 

He honestly couldn’t entirely remember what all he had said in his anger, and he hoped against hope that he hadn’t just ruined what little relationship was still between him and his father. 

He was just wondering whether he should get up and leave his father to his musings when the silence was broken once more.

“I’ll speak to Queen Tomoe.”

“Excuse me?” Adrien said, taken aback by this opening statement. His father raised his head from his hands and looked at his son.

“I’ll speak to Queen Tomoe and explain the situation. If both you and Princess Kagami agree on this, we can’t make you do anything you don’t want to, and the alliance will still be secure. No marriage will be required. I’ll see to it.”

Adrien gaped his mouth for a moment, then firmly closed it and nodded. 

“I-- Thank you, sir.”

King Gabriel nodded as well, then gestured to the door. 

“You may go. Send Nathalie to me if you see her.”

Adrien stood and tried to think of something - anything - to say. But nothing came, and so he simply walked out of the room and closed the door behind him with no more than a last glance at his mother’s portrait on the wall. 

Plagg was waiting for him just around the corner, and pounced on him the moment he was in sight.

“Well? What happened?”

Adrien felt his breathing going back to normal - was this what normal breathing was like? He once more promised himself never to take it for granted - before answering with a growing smile.

“I did it. I told him.”

Plagg took a step back and looked him up and down critically.

“Well, you’re still in one piece, and you’re not having a breakdown, so I’d say it went pretty well. What did he say?”

“He said… he’d talk to Queen Tomoe and get it all sorted out. Other than that, he didn’t really say anything.”

Plagg laughed, a hearty laugh that boosted Adrien’s spirits just hearing it.

“I can’t blame him! I only managed to get here in time to hear the last of your monologue for myself, but I could hear it quite well from here. Oh, don’t worry,” he said quickly, cutting off Adrien’s worried comment, “No one else could hear it. I was the only one around. That and the dragon, but I think she walked away to make sure no one else was - oh, speaking of which!”

Adrien heard the familiar footsteps coming down the hall and he quickly walked over to meet her, saying 

“Nathalie, my father wants to see you.”

“I see. Thank you, Adrien.” she said, her demeanor a little less curt than usual. Then, to his absolute astonishment, she reached forward and hugged him. 

“You did the right thing. And your father will understand. It’s been hard for him for many years, and maybe this is just what he needed to get his head back to the present instead of the past. I’m proud of you.”

Adrien was still frozen as she let go of him and walked away toward the king’s study as if nothing had happened. Plagg jogged his shoulder and he blinked rapidly, then turned to his tutor.

“I need to talk to you in private. Is that okay?”

“Sure, lead the way.” Plagg said, not seeming at all surprised. 

Adrien quickly walked to their usual study, knowing that once they were in there, they wouldn’t be disturbed by anyone but Nathalie and knowing that she would be busy for the foreseeable future. He held the door for his tutor and shut it tightly behind them. Then he turned to the center of the room and said quickly

“I know what I have to do.”

Plagg sighed dramatically.

“Young love! Is there anything else you can think about but that?”

“Yes, of course there-- Wait, how did you know that’s what I was going to say?”

Plagg grinned up at him.

“When you’ve been around as much as I have, kid, you learn to pick up on the cues. So, what’s the big decision?”

Adrien took a deep breath and started.

“I made my decision. I know how I feel about Marinette and Ladybug. I realized as I was talking to Father that the only things keeping me strong were the thought of Mother and the thought of Marinette. Plagg, I can’t give up on her. She needs me. I know she can’t be Ladybug, it’s just not possible. I mean, Ladybug is so confident and sure of herself, but Marinette doesn’t even let anyone touch her, let alone have the courage to defy her stepmother like that and go where she knows she could be recognized. Ladybug, too - she’s so unfazed by the spotlight, she’s already fit into a group - they can’t be the same, Plagg, they just can’t! Their reactions to Chat Noir were so different, too… I have to have been reading too much into everything.”

Adrien started pacing, still directing his speech to his tutor sitting by the fireplace.

“I have a choice and I’m making it right now. I get it, I messed up and I have to fix it, but I can’t do it right now. The first thing I have to do is explain to Ladybug that I never meant to lead her on. And then tonight I’ll have to go to Marinette and ask her to forgive me. I feel so terrible for leaving her like that last night… and I think it’s only fair that I tell her who I really am and give her a full explanation.” 

Plagg looked impressed. 

“I must say, I wasn’t expecting that from you. That sounds like a very reasonable plan. But what are you going to do if she doesn’t come back tonight?”

“You think she won’t come back?!” Adrien said, suddenly panicked. Plagg made a soothing gesture with his hands.

“Calm down, I’m just trying to make sure we’re covering all our bases. We’ll figure that out in a second. So, how are you going to react to Ladybug if you do find out something about her and it seems like you’re right after all?”

Adrien sighed and said

“I don’t know. But either way, I’ll have to talk to her as if I don’t know, because I’m not supposed to know Marinette in the first place. Then I can go and talk to Marinette and explain everything. I want to tell her who I really am.”

Plagg clapped him on the shoulder.

“Good for you. But don’t forget - she might be mad at Chat Noir, don’t make her angry at Adrien as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go! This is one of my favorite chapters, personally, and I hope you enjoyed it. It was a little tough, deciding when to put this in the plot - my other option was right after the third night of the ball, but this ended up working better. And I particularly enjoyed writing the medieval-style adaptation of Emilie's very "modern-art" portrait from the show - hopefully that came through right!  
> As always, I love all the comments and love I'm getting - this story is almost to 10,000 hits across this site and Fanfiction.net, and I seriously can't believe it!   
> And speaking of Fanfiction.net, I've started another series on that site, a collection of oneshots for this show as well. If you're interested, just look up the same username and it should come right up.  
> Thank you all for coming back to join me, and I'll see you again next week!


	26. Chapter 26

Marinette walked up the stairs to her room, finally finished with her daily routine of chores. Still midafternoon - she was surprised she had been able to finish so efficiently. 

But then again, she had good reason to keep busy. Quite a few reasons. 

First, there was the utter turmoil in her head over her stepsisters and their apparently pendulating personalities. As much as she was quickly learning to adapt to the change in her youngest stepsister, she was never one to just leave a situation alone if she could possibly change it. And this certainly seemed to be a situation that had arisen quickly and apparently out of nowhere. 

_ “Out of nowhere, indeed.” _

Marinette would bet any money she possessed that Lila had been behind whatever had caused Sabrina’s new animosity. And if she could possibly do it without breaking down, she intended to at least find out what Lila had done to poison her little stepsister’s mind. 

Chloé’s position was less easy to interpret, and almost as terrifying. She had said to trust her, but how? For over two years now she had treated Marinette as nothing more than an inconvenience - what if she decided to revert without any more warning that she’d given the first time? There had now been almost two days to process Chloé’s shift, and Marinette had come to a difficult conclusion at last: As much as the blonde had seemed to change, it wasn’t worth the risk. And certainly not worth her trust. 

Not again. 

Marinette had hoped that at least one of her stepfamily would remain just the same, but even Lila had her moments. Last night’s rant over whatever it was had - perhaps strangely - reassured the dark-haired girl that her stepmother was back to whatever passed for normal in her mind. It was horrible and she wished for a way out every day, but at least she knew where she stood with her stepmother. But even the encounter over the breakfast table that morning had dashed the hope out the window. 

And yet, was it so different from her usual behavior? For years she had aimed backhanded compliments at her stepdaughter and pretended to care about her - she’d just never been so convincing at it. Perhaps this was just another way of proving to Marinette that she was a second-class citizen in her own home, that her stepsisters would never accept her and that she would be ostracised if she so much as tried to prove herself better than she really was. It had to be just like all of Lila’s other ploys, merely changed to make Marinette feel she had a choice - any choice - in the matter, only to tear it away. The older woman’s last sentence had proven that particular point: Marinette might be allowed to go, but only if she did exactly as her stepmother said and attached herself to her poisonous apron strings without question or thought. 

Just like everyone else. 

And yet, as she thought back to the look in her stepmother’s eyes, it was more than the triumph of a won argument or a proven point. It was something more. It was calculating and smug all at the same time. 

As if she’d put a puzzle together and--

Oh, no. 

Marinette had reached her bedroom by this time and was able to reach out and grab onto her bedpost to steady herself. 

She knew it. She knew going to the festival had been a bad idea. She had told herself and told herself again that she would never be able to pull it off, and now she was proving her worst fear right. If Lila had somehow found a clue, if she’d figured out that Marinette was sneaking away and her conversation at breakfast had been a test - It had to have been. No matter what, if Marinette had really been sitting at home every evening, she would have jumped at the chance to go no matter what her stepsisters might say. But now - now she might very well have given herself away completely. 

She dropped to the mattress and clenched her skirt in her hands, her constant undercurrent of panic picking up, causing her to imagine all kinds of worst case scenarios. 

Tikki, arrested for some crime Lila had been able to invent and taken away who knows where without another word.

Marinette, locked away in this terrible house forever with not two but three women who hated her simply for existing.

Chat Noir’s visits and identity found out and him blaming her for it.

Somehow in these terrible futures, Chat Noir’s possible discovery was more serious than Marinette’s own plight. 

And that led her right back to the question that had been hammering at the back of her mind all day, no matter how hard she tried to push it away by working at almost twice her usual speed and trying to stay as busy as possible to keep the waking nightmares away. It didn’t make sense - her own situation should have been foremost in her mind, yet she always came back to him.

She didn’t know how she would react if she saw him again. And she hated herself for being so unsure. Thoughts and images ran through her head - his cocky grin as he asked her name at the festival, his breathless banter with her as he climbed up the ivy to her window the first time, his soft voice as they sat together at her parent’s graves, his position of shame and sorrow after her faint. So many conflicting signals, so many aspects of only one person. 

So many points to encourage her either direction in her decision. 

She repeated the motions she had been doing all day - for years, her technique had been perfected, but this was different for some reason. A deep breath, a focus on one thing in her sight to find a different thought, a different idea to keep him out of her mind. 

But it was no good. Everything her eyes lighted upon in the small room had some connection to him. Her sewing box, her dresser, the window, even the trees outside provided images of him despite the almost unbelievably few times he had visited her. 

Had it only been four nights he had visited? Five, if you counted him walking her home the evening they met. 

Only a few hours each, only a few times. She shouldn’t have this much regret and heartache over a man she had known for less than the equivalent of a full day. What was she thinking? She wasn’t a romantic person, she didn’t look for love in her life. She barely looked for civility - why had she even allowed herself to think of him that way?

And when had she started?

She didn’t have the answers yet - she didn’t think she ever would. 

For the second time in as many days, she was thankful to hear a bell ringing her into action. If this kept up, she might very well be thanking her stepmother for screaming at her by the end of the week. She might end up becoming the dutiful and subservient daughter-by-marriage she was always expected to be. 

She had no more time to think about that as she reached the bottom of the stairs and followed the sound of the ringing to her youngest stepsister’s bedroom. 

Sabrina was sitting in her chair by the window, reading a book and ostentatiously not looking at the older girl who entered quietly. 

“You called, Sabrina?”

“Yes, I did.” the strawberry blonde said curtly, marking her place in the book and looking up at the darker haired girl. “I want you to fix up my gown for the ball tonight - I want it to be perfect.”

Marinette nodded and moved toward the wardrobe, but stopped at Sabrina’s next words.

“And where on earth are those beads you took the other day? What, did you sell those, too?”

Marientte was shocked and for a moment could just stare at her little stepsister. Finally, she managed to say, without even a tremor in her voice,

“I… I think they must have slipped into the dress by accident when I took it away the other day. I have them in my room, I can get them for you now if you’d like?”

Sabrina rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Oh, forget it. Just bring them with you when you bring back the dress, and make it perfect! I met the prince last night and I want to look my best when I see him again tonight. There was a rumor going around that he has his eyes on that Ladybug girl, and I don’t want to take any chances in getting his attention.”

Marinette knew she had done the alterations to the gown the day before, but she nodded. Still, she had to voice her thoughts before her usually gentle stepsister got hurt either by accident or through her own choices.

“Isn’t… Isn’t the festival to celebrate his engagement to Princess Kagami? Doesn’t that mean the prince is… you know, engaged?”

“Well, if he  _ is _ taken, he’s clearly got an out eye for other girls, too. I mean, he wouldn’t take his eyes off that stupid hussy all night. And Mother says that I might have a chance with him if he is looking for another girl - she says this Princess Kagami is probably nothing more than awful gossip. Mother says not to do anything improper or scandalous, but a flirtation with the prince will do wonders for my social standing and will make other young men come rushing right to me!”

Marinette had to interject again, saying quickly 

“Sabrina, I really don’t know if that’s such a good idea--”

Sabrina suddenly threw the book across the room at her. Marinette had to duck to avoid being hit in the head - not that this was an uncommon occurrence.

“What do you know about it!?” Sabrina shrieked. “You weren’t  _ at _ the festival - and not for lack of trying, I might add. First you steal my beads, and then you lie to me! If you ever cared for me at all, you’ll do exactly what I say, because my mother knows what’s best for me and it’s  _ not _ to be around you! Now take that dress and get out!”

Marinette snatched up the gown and ran out of the room. 

Now,  _ there _ was a lot to think about.

She was back in her own attic when she finally realized that Sabrina hadn’t mentioned what kind of adjustments she wanted on the gown. And no doubt she’d blame Marinette if it wasn’t exactly to her liking. Marinette quickly spread out the gown on her bed and looked it over critically, mentally putting herself into her stepsister’s shoes for a moment. 

A slight hemming of the sleeves, possibly, or a bit of extra lace on the bodice as decoration? 

Marinete looked closer at the dress, then at her bag of odds and ends in her sewing box, and quickly grabbed her needle. 

It wasn’t long before she had finished, but by that time bells were ringing for her again. The third night of the festival meant a lavish display: hot baths for each of the respective guests, their newly-made gowns and jewels of the highest quality and expense, full faces of rouge and powder - not that it would do Lila any good, Marinette thought. 

Unlike the last few days, as the afternoon wore into evening she was being pulled this way and that to finish the last few touches to three different ladies’ appearances. And trying not to allow their snide comments, false compliments, and offputting mellowness respectively to break her down. She was having a hard enough time as it was. 

She couldn’t go back for the last night. She had come to the conclusion earlier in the afternoon as she worked on the alterations for Sabrina’s gown - it was too dangerous. It wasn’t worth the risk - there were so many things that could go wrong. Lila could be suspicious, Chat Noir could show up again - and who knew how she might react to seeing him again - the prince might find out who exactly she was… the possibilities were weighing on her mind so heavily the only outlet was to keep moving, to be doing something or risk letting the fears weigh her down. 

Yes, by this time next week she might very well be thanking her stepmother for shouting at her if something drastic didn’t happen. And the likelihood of that was becoming increasingly slim. 

It had been bright and sunny through the afternoon, but as evening drew closer a few clouds rolled in and reflected off the beautiful sunset in the western sky. Marinette once more left the hall before the ladies came down to meet their carriage and so heard rather than saw them leave for a third night of mingling with the highest of high society. She was sitting in the kitchen - this time she really was fulfilling Lila’s expectations and sitting close to the fireplace, trying to warm inexplicably cold frame despite the beautiful day outside. 

She didn’t register that the grandfather clock had struck a quarter to eight, she didn’t register that the darkness was creeping in. All she knew was her own emotions. 

Now that she was finally left to herself without any tasks to be done or errands to be run, the panic that had been creeping over her all day finally took effect. The same thoughts she had been pushing away all day were coming back in full force, effectively causing her to go through an entire day’s worth of emotional turmoil in less than an hour.

One hour. That’s all it took. For two years she had pushed every bit of this thought away, kept busy, kept moving and doing whatever she could to prevent herself from finally following her thoughts to their logical conclusion. But thanks to the conversation with Chat Noir the night before, she couldn’t push it away. Even Tikki’s arguments and persuasions hadn’t managed to get through to her the same way.

And so her thoughts went, around and around, always just barely missing the argument. Until finally it hit her.

Someone was coming for her. They had to be. Because she didn’t have a plan for what to do if they weren’t. 

There. It was out. That tiny glimmer of hope she had held onto for so long was out in the open for her to examine and rip to shreds. 

Her parents were gone. She’d long since accepted that. 

Tikki couldn’t save her. That thought took longer to reconcile with herself. She could tell herself she didn’t believe her nurse could fix it, that she wasn’t a little girl anymore, but like a little girl her reaction to any great hardship was to run right back to her nurse. 

Her little stepsister wouldn’t save her. Not that she couldn’t, but she wouldn’t. And Marinette was sure she would never be able to count on her little stepsister to do anything for her again, no matter what might happen in the future. 

Marinette tried to move, to do something that might distract her from her next train of thought, but it was too late. The dam had already broken, and there was no going back. 

She started moving, cleaning a kitchen which was already spotless, trying to find something - anything - to think about, to distract her from her thoughts.

But the thought came anyway.

There was no prince coming to save her. 

She had to stop and drop to the ground where she was in order to prevent herself from falling over. Her body stopped moving and her mind forced that thought to play over and over. 

No prince was coming to save her.

Her childhood love was never coming. He’d forgotten her. 

He’d instead fallen for another aspect of herself. The one she would never live up to. He’d forgotten about the little girl with the pigtails and was instead turning his eyes toward the graceful stranger he knew nothing about. 

He wasn’t coming. 

Marinette allowed this thought to permeate her mind, to repeat itself seemingly endlessly as she sat in front of the fireplace, not even feeling the heat of the dying embers. 

For the first time in two years, she allowed herself to let go of this tiny sliver of hope. She might have believed that he would never fall in love with her, she might have convinced herself that she didn’t mind, that she’d be happy with just his friendship as long as he one day miraculously removed her from this house of horrors. But never in her wildest dreams had she considered that he might not care. 

Or even that he had forgotten her. 

True, he had seemed interested in her name, but he had merely asked the first night and had never brought it up again. Surely if he had remembered his little playmate, he would have questioned her further. Surely he would have done more.

Surely he wouldn’t have waited this long to look for her. 

As painful as it was, Marinette could no longer lie to herself. She had to face reality and make a decision accordingly. 

She was surprised at how easy that decision was to make. 

Perhaps those few times she had left the house in the throes of emotion had been a subconscious attempt to implement it. 

Perhaps if she hadn’t been stopped by Nathaniel and Chat Noir the first night and Tikki the second, she would have gone through with it, too. 

But this time there wasn’t anyone to stop her. 

No one except herself. 

But she couldn’t bring herself to do it now, either. 

Or could she?

She was still sitting on the hearth, trying to convince herself to move, to implement her plan, to do something, when she heard a knock at the kitchen door.

A tiny, irrational and traitorous part of herself jumped at the thought that it might be a black-clad visitor, and she looked up quickly to meet the eyes of the figure through the open top half of the door in the growing darkness outside.

The visitor wasn’t the handsome blond young man. Instead, the visitor’s ginger hair was sticking out more than usual, and she was holding a parcel in her hands. 

“Marinette, what are you still doing here! You were supposed to be at my house half an hour ago!”

Marinette took a breath and shook her head, not moving from the hearth.

“I can’t. It’s not safe. It’s too dangerous to go again. I had two wonderful nights, Tikki, and I can’t thank you enough for that, but I can’t go again.”

Tikki reached over the door and opened it, stepping in and setting her parcel down on the wooden table. Then she walked over and gently set one hand on Marinette’s shoulder. 

Then she promptly pulled it away as the dark-haired girl flinched involuntarily. And sighed as she knelt in front of the young woman.

“Marinette, talk to me. Please. I know you’re scared, but you were scared yesterday, too. This isn’t the same, I know it’s not. What happened?”

Marinette shook her head, opening her mouth and then shutting it again, trying to find a plausible reason to give her nurse without mentioning anything about her drastic plan. Tikki couldn’t find out about it. But before she could find an excuse, Tikki gave a sad little smile and said quietly

“Is it because of that young man?”

Marinette finally looked up into the older woman’s face, her own sky blue eyes wide with shock and fear. Tikki just laughed slightly and smiled reassuringly.

“I was worried about you the night you came with that jewelry. I followed you just to make sure you were alright and I saw the two of you in the glade. Who is he?”

Marinette felt every emotion she had felt for him welling up inside her and she quickly turned her face away as she said

“No one. He’s just a friend who… who…”

Then she broke down and took a shuddering breath before saying

“Tikki… I don’t know anymore.”

She tried to keep her voice steady as she confessed everything to the woman in front of her, but by the end of her recital she was almost overcome by emotion, only barely keeping her quivering lip under control. 

“-- and then he just left, Tikki! He was being so kind, he was so sorry, and I messed it all up, but I don’t know if he even meant any of it! He didn’t leave anything, not even a note, he did that before, but maybe he thought I was so angry with him that I wouldn’t even read it. I didn’t mean it, Tikki, I swear I didn’t, but I don’t know if I can face him again if he’s just going to flirt with me when I’m a different person, but I’ve also lost so many people, I don’t want to lose him, too!”

Tikki moved her hand toward her Marinette's, but didn’t quite touch it. Instead, she sighed, muttered something under her breath that her former charge couldn’t quite catch, then she spoke clearly.

“Marinette, I want you to listen to me. And I need you to trust me. He does care for you deeply. I could see that in the two minutes I saw you together that night. He does care. More than that, I don’t know, but you have to believe me.”

Marinette got up and started pacing the few steps of free space available in the small kitchen, saying agitatedly

“But he was so clearly interested in me when I wasn’t really me! How am I supposed to compete with someone who’s so confident and graceful all the time?”

Tikki finally stood up and said in a tone she knew well,

“Marinette! You are you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing an apron or a gown, you are you and nothing can change that. Stop comparing yourself to you. It’s just stupid, and all you’re going to do it convince yourself that you can’t do it and run away!”

Marinette felt like a little child again, being reprimanded for a tiny error in judgement. She felt her panic setting in again. Tikki couldn’t know what she had planned, right?

“It’s not safe, Tikki. That’s not the biggest issue here - Lila is suspicious, and I can’t go anywhere in case she comes back to try to catch me.”

Tikki tisked irritatedly.

“Marinette, how long have you known me?”

“My whole life. What does that have to do with this?”

“Have I ever steered you wrong or let you down?”

Marinette thought back and said agitatedly.

“What about that one time with the pigeon?”

Tikki flashed a small smile and said solemnly

“Alright, one time. Do you still trust me?”

Marinette paused, then simply nodded. Tikki walked over to the table and began to unwrap the parcel, saying briskly

“Then come on and trust me. There is a prince waiting to dance  _ with you _ \- tonight’s supposed to be the ball, remember?”

Marinette blanched. She had forgotten that tonight was the ball - she knew the dances, or at least she had many years ago, but surely it was crazy to ask her to remember it all off the top of her head at a time like this! All of Tikki’s reassurances weren't convincing her at all. 

“No! No, I can’t. I don’t remember, I’ll embarrass myself - and besides, he wants to dance with Ladybu--”

“With you.” Tikki said firmly. Before Marinette could say anything else, Tikki had pulled the gown out and unfolded it, and all Marinette could do was reach out for it.

She knew she would come to regret this decision. It might cost her dearly. But with the sight of that gown came a thrill of confidence and a desperate desire for one last night of magic. 

Perhaps plain Marinette wasn’t brave enough to make this choice. But Ladybug was confident, graceful and poised. She was someone no one would ignore - whether for good or for ill. 

And she was making this choice for herself.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice long chapter this week! And next week I'll be posting several chapters in succession, probably on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Just trust me, you'll want them all in a row.   
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. And thank you to all the lovely readers and commenters! Actually, there is a small aspect of this chapter, a little easter egg if you will, that actually came from one of my commenters. It will come back up later in the story as well.   
> Thank you all, and I'll see you all again next week!


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy this nice long chapter! At long last, we come to the climax of the plot... kind of. You'll see.   
> As I said last week, I'll be posting several times in a row, but I'll only be posting two chapters this week instead of three. The way I ended up splitting them up made it more difficult, but there will be another chapter coming tomorrow! And in the meantime, please enjoy this chapter.

“Now then, let’s go. Come on, hurry up!” Tikki said, handing her young charge the same red and black gown as the last two nights. It was still just as stunning as before - somehow it seemed even more well-crafted. The threads were shining even in the dim light of the fire, and Marinette suddenly noticed the darkness. 

“The lights! I’ll get the lamp--”

“You will not.” Tikki said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “ _ You _ will put on this gown. I’ll get the lights.”

Marinette wanted to protest, to tell Tikki that she was through letting her fix everything, that she could do it herself, but she stopped herself just in time.

Best to let her old nurse think what she liked. 

Marinette took the gown and set it gently on the small table as she quickly stepped out of her skirt and blouse. Just like the last times. She quickly picked up the dress and slipped it over her head, allowing the folds to surround her. 

This was her mother’s final gift to her. 

She intended to make it count tonight. This would be her final gift for her mother. To go and be the belle of a ball for one more night. Then no more disguises, no more false names, no more pretending. 

About anything at all. 

Tikki had lit the lamps with an almost impossible speed and was now turned back to the dark-haired girl by the table. As Marinette pulled her hair out of its pigtails and reached for the bead-studded mask, Tikki tied the gown up the back and smoothed it out in places. Then she reached into her own apron pocket and produced the pieces of jewelry.

Just like the last nights.

“Which one?” 

Marinette already had her choice made. She quickly reached for the ruby necklace and quickly attached it around her own neck. The teardrop pendant hung just above the collar of the gown, the red flashing against her pale skin. Marinette wished for a mirror, then decided against it. 

She didn’t want to see her imperfections tonight. She wanted to be able to have one perfect night, one night of absolute wonder, before leaving it all behind. 

“You look beautiful. Just like your mother.” Tikki said, tears shining in her own eyes. Then she reached back into the parcel and pulled out the last items. “Can’t forget these, now can we?”

Marinette’s eyes opened wide in wonder as she took in the shoes in Tikki’s hands. They were… they were  _ clear _ . They were clear straight through. There were designs etched into the heels and on the side, but this didn’t mar the fact that Marinette could see right through them. It was as if they were made of crystal, or ice, or…

“Glass.” Tikki said as if reading her thoughts. “And don’t ask me where I got them, I’ve had them for so long I’ve honestly forgotten! But they’re incredibly comfortable and indestructible. Just don’t get them wet. Here.”

She held them out to Marinette, who stepped back in alarm.

“Don’t try to hand those to me, I’ll drop them!”

Tikki laughed and set them on the ground. Then she held out her hand to Marinette and said “Put them on, then!”

Marinette took a deep breath and gingerly stepped her left foot in, then her right, slowly allowing herself to adjust to the balance of hte heels. 

And Tikki was right. The glass heels were no more uncomfortable than her own sensible flat-heeled shoes. They fit her perfectly. 

“Tikki… I don’t know what to say!”

Before Tikki could say anything, the clock in the hall struck the half hour. 

Eight thirty. 

Tikki looked up at the sound and smiled, walking toward her briskly and saying

“Just as well, you’re almost out of time! Go on, get going. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a ride - tonight’s the biggest night of the festival, I’m sure there will still be carriages even this late.”

Marinette gave a slightly mischievous grin and said matter of factly

“I think I’ll be alright.”

And indeed, she had no sooner stepped out of the forest then she saw the familiar sight of two friendly faces waving at her. 

“How do you do, Miss Ladybug?” Ivan said politely as he stepped over to the door and opened it for her, bowing as he did so. She would have entered with a smile if Mylene hadn’t stepped forward, her mouth open. 

“Miss Ladybug… your shoes!” 

Ladybug smiled sweetly at her, nodding and lifting her skirt to show her the full effect of the beautiful heels. Mylene’s eyes widened at the sight and she let out a small gasp. 

“They’re amazing! I can’t believe it. Are they made of diamond?”

“Nothing quite so exotic. They’re glass.”

Mylene was still quite taken with them, but Ivan gently took her hand and gestured for Ladybug to enter the carriage. She did so with a small smile, shutting the door gently behind her. She heard Mylene whisper to Ivan as they moved toward the horses

“They’re  _ glass _ , Ivan! It’s… it’s magical!”

Perhaps it was a little bit magical, Ladybug acknowledged silently. 

The journey to the city felt both longer than either other night and somehow seemed to take no time at all. Between remaining entranced by the view of the city and terrified at the prospect of going to a ball without any kind of dancing experience since she was a child, it seemed like they had barely begun when they were stopping outside the gates of the palace and Ivan was opening the door for her once more. As she stepped out, Ladybug smiled once more at him.

“Please don’t feel like you have to stay for me. It’s the last night, go out and have fun! I won’t be done out for a few hours, and I feel so terrible that you are just staying here waiting for me. Please, go and enjoy the festival.”

Ivan and Mylene flashed a smile at each other, then bowed and curtsied respectively. Ladybug curtsied right back, ignoring the look of shock on the younger girl’s face as she quickly walked up the stairs to the main courtyard. Before she entered, she looked up at the face of the clock on the tower within the palace.

Nine thirty.

Unlike the last two evenings, the courtyard was much more empty. There were clumps of people around, a few pairs, but it seemed to be no more busy than she would assume a usual day would be. She moved toward one of the guards and asked quietly

“Excuse me, where is the ball if it’s not here in the courtyard?”

He looked down at her - presumably he wasn’t allowed to break his attitude of stoic duty, but she saw a smile in his eyes as he pointed across the courtyard to the main doors. Ladybug nodded and started walking across, noticing the people around her stopping and staring at her. She felt exposed, open to every kind of ridicule. But she reminded herself of her mask. If she could meet her own stepsister and not be recognized, no one would be able to see it without prior knowledge. And if a few stuck up nobles were offended, then who would care?

She walked up yet another set of stairs and entered a large atrium tiled with marble and lined with statues and paintings of famous historical scenes and figures. There were guards along the whole line of the wall, and she could hear faint music coming from down another hall. She quickly moved toward it, hoping against hope that her stepmother might be distracted or that she was just reading too much into her suspicious actions. She prayed to whatever powers might be watching over her that she be able to have one last night free.

But the moment she entered the ballroom and looked over the carved balcony at the enormous room, she forgot all about her fears. 

The ballroom was a vision in gold and glitter. The brass chandeliers were hung with countless candles, the floor, where it could be seen between the skirts and boots of the guests, was marble polished so highly that one could almost use it as a mirror. The guests, too, were glittering brighter than ever before. While she had thought the first night was the most ostentatious parade of costumery, it barely held a candle to the grandeur of tonight’s guests. While she recognized a few of the visitors as those who had attended the festival the previous nights, masks were even more predominant. 

And, like the other two nights, the troubadour was calling out her name, attracting the attention of the crowd, who almost all turned to look at her as she stood at the top of the stairs. 

But all of these facts barely had time to register before her attention was grabbed by another figure.

Standing there, just far enough from the entrance not to be seen from it, was a black-haired man of middle age, looking at her speculatively. And right next to him was Prince Adrien.

Who was looking right at her. 

While it was only a split second, it seemed as if relief crossed his face at seeing her. He was still smiling, but as he met her eyes she saw his smile became more real, more natural. And despite her own breaking heart, she felt her own smile spreading in spite of herself. Her own emotions were in turmoil at seeing him so clearly looking for her, but the fact that she was able to bring him such joy simply by being there was a gift in and of itself. So she just stood there, oblivious to the stares of others around the room as the prince himself came over and offered his hand, saying softly

“Miss Ladybug. A pleasure, as always.”

It wasn’t until she had taken it gingerly and they had walked down the stairs and a few steps toward the center of the room that she realized exactly what his intention was. Feeling a familiar sensation of panic inside, she realized for the first time exactly what dancing at a function like this would mean. She quickly turned to him and said

“I’m so sorry, but I actually can’t dance. I only learned long ago, and I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone…”

He looked down at her and smiled kindly.

“Of course. I… would you like to join us over here?”

She nodded, not entirely understanding exactly why her heart was beating so fast. They veered their course toward the usual crowd of young people - Rose seemed to be jumping up and down as she waved, the princess Kagami was standing there looking almost pleased, and Ladybug noticed with a quake of alarm that Alya was also as well, standing on the arm of the prince’s friend, Nino. 

Well, she’d been able to get through last night, hadn’t she?

And so what if she accidentally let something slip now? It wasn’t as if it would make much of a difference soon enough, anyway.

Something in her face must have shifted, because the prince suddenly spoke up.

“Is there something wrong?”

She shook her head violently, saying quickly “No! No, nothing at all. Just lost in thought.”

She looked back at the group and smiled, seeing their faces smiling right back at her.

She was going to enjoy tonight. She was going to forget that in a few hours she would have to become the same Marinette who was so broken and weak in so many ways. These people didn’t know her, but they didn’t care. They saw the beautiful stranger who was so confident, and for one more night she intended to be that person. 

Rose quickly ran up to her and grabbed her other hand, pulling her back into her spot in the group. 

“I’m so glad you’re here! You left without saying goodbye last night, and we weren’t sure if you would be back again!”

Ladybug smiled right back at everyone and greeted them each by name - including Alya, who almost fainted from excitement.

“I can’t believe it! You remember me? I’m honored - I mean, it’s so nice to see you again, I hope you’re doing well?”

Ladybug smiled and tried not to laugh at her friend’s apparent hero worship of her alter ego. Somehow, while the last few nights had been nights of nerves and fears of discovery, the knowledge that Lila already knew - or at least suspected - her disguise, and that the knowledge wouldn’t make a difference in the future, these thoughts reassured her that she would be safe to accidentally divulge something. If they found out now, who would be affected?

Probably only the prince, and it seemed like he was too fascinated by her appearance to notice any possible slip-ups on her part. 

Prince Adrien. Her Chaton. While she might still call him her prince, he would always be Chaton in her mind. There had been a few near misses the nights prior when she had caught herself just in time and managed to change her words before letting it slip out. At the time, she hadn’t really been able to pinpoint exactly why it was that she couldn’t say the name, but with her new understanding of her own thoughts she finally understood that her own fears had been keeping her mouth closed. 

For his sake rather than hers, she hoped it would remain that way.

As the evening wore on, she had several offers to dance, but each time she declined politely and firmly. And the various gentlemen of the court were too well aware of the prince’s proximity to her to pester her further. 

Finally, he approached her again. He hadn’t said another word to her outside of the group conversations since she arrived, well over an hour ago, but now he reached her and offered his arm, saying softly

“It’s awfully loud. Would you like to join me on a walk?”

Ladybug hesitated for only a moment, remembering the last time she’d “walked” with a gentleman, but she saw his face of perfect kindness and composure and her fears were laid to rest. She nodded and took his arm with the least amount of contact possible, allowing him to lead her to the doors opposite the entrance she had first arrived at. The crowds all parted as they passed, and Ladybug could hear the whispers and see the stares of everyone they passed.

She didn’t care. Ladybug was a poised and graceful young lady who wouldn’t be overwhelmed by a few gossips.

The only sight that truly shook her was the brief glimpse she caught of the royal dais as they were leaving the ballroom. 

King Gabriel was looking right at her, his expression utterly inscrutable. 

The two of them walked through the well-lit halls, discussing the ballroom and the various people in it. He proved to have quite a bit of knowledge of the people she had seen - unsurprisingly, she knew - and he was quite happy to describe the people who had caught her eyes due to their eccentric or just downright ugly ensembles.

It wasn’t until he led her back into the main courtyard and she heard the clock strike eleven that she finally asked 

“Where exactly are we walking?”

He just smiled a little mysteriously and said slyly

“Just the gardens. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

She did a quick doubletake, but the expression was gone, replaced instead by his usual expression of kindness and utter interest in her conversation. 

Surely she’d imagined the resemblance, right?

She was considering this in the back of her mind, knowing exactly what her mind was trying to do, when they reached the gardens. She saw a large wooden sign posted in the ground just outside the hedge borders, reading “ _ By order of the royal family, the Queen’s gardens are to be enjoyed by all, but all flowers are to be left in memory of our dearly departed Queen Emilie _ .” 

Then they turned the corner and passed the first hedge into the garden, and she had to gasp.

The gardens were lit by a hundred or more lanterns. The plants had been groomed to perfection, the beautiful blooms almost perfectly symmetrical with each other. The colors were matched perfectly - blue against yellow, red against violet, orange against dark green. Not a leaf or petal seemed to be out of place. Ladybug turned to the prince and said in amazement

“I can’t believe it. It’s… it’s beautiful. I know Queen Emilie had a green thumb, but nothing like this!”

He nodded and led her through, continuing the conversations despite her frequent distractions by a particularly beautiful bloom or perfect color set. He didn’t seem to mind, in fact he seemed to enjoy it and she caught him smiling at her several times, a little sadly at first, but then brightening as her eyes met his once more. 

They met several other people in the gardens - a few couples looking for a romantic spot in the quickly-fading moonlight, a few single people enjoying the quiet, and even one group of six discussing rather loudly the possibility of being caught in the rain. As they passed this group, Ladybug and her escort had to exert quite a bit of effort not to start laughing, but she looked up at the sky and noticed that the clouds had, in fact, begun to roll in rather quickly, blocking the full moon from their view. 

She was still looking up at the sky when he took her arm gently and began to lead her away from the beaten path. She looked down again and saw a small silhouette of a structure in front of them, a single lamp in the center of it. As they approached, she recognized it as a small gazebo, well made and well cared for. Not a single splinter was in evidence, and as they arrived she saw the chairs covered by cushions without a patch or tear in sight. 

“This was my mother’s favorite place to sit.” Adrien said, as if answering her unasked question. “I like to come here sometimes when I need reminding of her. It’s not quite the same, but it’s something.”

Ladybug nodded. 

“I do the same with my parents’ graves. Anything to keep them close.”

The prince nodded in agreement, looking right at her. Then he took a deep breath and moved toward the edge of the gazebo, holding onto the railing tightly as he said 

“I actually wanted to talk to you alone.”

Ladybug felt her heartbeat quickening. Was this it? Was Adrien, the Crown Prince, about to profess his undying love for her?

And how would she gently turn him down?

She was trying very hard to think of a kind way of telling him that her heart was already taken, that she couldn’t possibly accept, but before she could come up with an answer, he surprised her.

“I hope you won’t find this too forward, but I wanted to apologize for possibly leading you on. I… I know I wasn’t especially subtle, and I might have made a few mistakes. But I’ve learned some things in the past few days, and I wanted to tell you…“ He paused and took another deep breath before continuing. “I’m sorry, this is… a little bit harder than I thought it would be, all things considered.”

Before she could stop herself, Ladybug reached out and put a hand on his arm, saying quickly

“It’s alright. I understand, and thank you. I didn’t see much of that in you myself, but I’ve been a bit sheltered for much of my life and perhaps I missed some cues. Thank you for being honest with me.”

Their eyes met and they shared a smile, then she joined him with her hands on the rail as well. 

“I’m glad you told me.” she said without looking at him. “I’m afraid that if you’d tried to propose or anything crazy like that, I would have had to turn you down.”

“What, a prince isn’t good enough for you?” he said in a tone of mock offence. “My dear Miss Ladybug, I’m not sure what to say to that.”

“Why, not at all. As a prince you’re as charming as they come, but I’m afraid I simply don’t have time for a romantic entanglement at the moment.” she joked right back, before dropping the act and admitting “I did sort of come the first night because I was hoping for romance, but I’ve managed to figure out my own heart now. So maybe I should be apologizing to you, too.”

He smiled down at her and said easily

“Please don’t. Why don’t we leave this whole, slightly embarrassing episode behind us and move on?”

She laughed slightly and nodded, looking back out across the gardens and the night sky, now covered in clouds with only a few patches of stars shining through. They stood together in comfortable silence for a few moments, each caught up in their own thoughts. 

Ladybug was wondering what exactly had come over her to bring about this utter shift in her personality. For so many years she had been longing for a moment just like this, and yet as soon as it came she was perfectly content to be standing here with the prince, not saying a word and even apologizing for being too forward with him. They were joking around, for crying out loud, just like they had when they were children.

Perhaps this was the reason. For almost as long as she could remember, ever since they had been separated as children, she had seen him through a starry-eyes lens, seeing his perfection and hoping for a fairy-tale happily ever after with him. She had forgotten that as children, there was no thought of happily ever after, just the company of each other. 

And here they were, so many years later, separated by so many times of trial and hardship, yet still able to just stand and enjoy one another’s company. Not as a prince and his subject, not as romantic interests, but as friends.

Whether he knew it or not. 

This realization was just one of many within the past few days and even hours, but in contrast to the other terrible thoughts that had come with her first few, this one merely filled her with peace. She wondered how he felt about it - she had a leg up in that she already knew the identity of her childhood friend. 

She wanted to ask him so many things, to tell him she was sorry for not telling him about their past together, but even after the feeling of peace descended on her as they stood there, she still hesitated. Perhaps Ladybug didn’t mind as much being found out, but as much as Tikki had tried to convince her otherwise, she still couldn’t entirely combine her two selves. While Ladybug was self-assured and seemingly fearless, Marinette was more timid and shy to trust, and this instinct drilled into her by her stepfamily overcame any mask. 

For so many years she had thought of him every day, watched over that last gift he gave her and waited for him to come back. While she now understood that no one else could change her own life or save her from her family, she still feared letting him know just what had become of his little playmate. She feared his reaction at learning the fate of the little girl who had once promised to love everyone and to never give up hope on the good of the world. While her thoughts of unrequited love were slowly but surely being overcome, that fear of losing her oldest friend was still just as strong. She would rather he never put the pieces together and remember little Ladybug as his first friend instead of a broken girl who had to disguise herself to even have the courage to talk to him.

Ladybug herself was nothing more than a disguise, anyway. A disguise to hide from him, from Lila, from Chat Noir. 

The silence was broken by the prince once more. 

“If you don’t mind my asking, and I say this purely platonically, you said that you had sorted out your own feelings. Why did you come looking for romance if you already had someone?”

Ladybug searched for a safe answer, finally settling on

“I didn’t. I still don’t know if I do. It’s… complicated. But let’s just say he’s someone I’ve become very close to very recently.”

Adrien nodded understandingly.

“I see. I… understand that. There have been some unfortunate rumors going around regarding me and my own relationship status, and I have to agree that “it’s complicated” is about the easiest way of explaining it.”

She looked up at him questioningly, saying swiftly

“You’re not engaged to Princess Kagami? I mean, I wondered, but--”

He interrupted with a sigh.

“Yes, yes, I know. It’s a long story. But to summarize, I have a different princess in mind, and Kagami has a different nobleman. We’ve worked it out, and since nothing was ever officially stated, the rumors are nothing but that.”

He suddenly stopped and turned to her, his cheeks clearly stained with color even under the dim light of the lamps.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to put all of that on you. I mean, I don’t even know you, it’s just that you remind me so much of someone I know, and another someone I used to be really close to, and maybe it’s this place that does it to me - I’m so sorry, that was out of line.”

Ladybug felt a thrill of nerves at that description of herself as reminding him of someone he used to know. She wondered whether he was speaking of her own self or not, but didn’t ask. Instead she smiled back at him and said sweetly

“Please don’t mention it. I completely understand. Once you’ve lost a parent, it’s much harder to find someone to talk to, so even a complete stranger is enough sometimes. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend, but I know some people aren’t so lucky.”

He nodded again.

“I know. Since my mother died, it kind of seems like the only person I can confide in is my tutor. He’s a bit grumpy sometimes, but he’s the best friend I have.”

“Even more than your princess?”

He smiled at that, but there was something behind it. Some kind of uncomfortable emotion she couldn’t quite place hid in his eyes as he said

“Like I said, it’s complicated. We’re not really close yet, and I may have messed something up royally. No pun intended, of course.” 

She groaned playfully, then sighed. 

“Why puns? Why is it always puns!?”

He grinned right back at her and would have said something else - probably another pun - when the sound of thunder made them both look up. 

“We’d better get back or we’ll be caught out here.” he said, offering his arm. When she shook her head with a tiny laugh, he just shrugged it off and led the way, the two of them still chatting away like the old friends he didn’t know they were. And neither of them thought to look up at the clock tower as they passed.

As they walked back into the ballroom and saw Alix, Nino and Alya in one corner, Ladybug squared her shoulders surreptitiously. She didn’t know what might be in store for her for the rest of the evening, but she intended to enjoy it to the fullest. She had no fear of being proposed to, very little fear of Chat Noir’s unexpected appearance, and the knowledge that whatever happened next, she would be gone soon enough. 

Unfortunately, they had barely reached the small group when another figure reached them, this time causing Ladybug’s heart to skip a beat. 

“Excuse me, your highness, but may I join you? I’ve been trying to catch up to you all night, but nothing!” Chloé said, clearly affecting the vocal cadences of the noble guests as she flipped her hair flirtatiously. The prince looked uncomfortable as he nodded without a word and made room for her in the group. She joined and stood just a few inches too close to the blond young man, effectively drawing the attention of everyone else in the group as well. 

“Erm… Hello, Chloé. Is everything okay?” Alya said, looking concerned. Chloé just smiled tightly and said

“Of course! Why wouldn’t it be? I mean, it’s the last night of the festival, and I’ve just been dancing the night away, and all it would take to complete the night would be one dance with a handsome prince. And I hear there’s a possibility you might be on the lookout for a certain maiden? I might be able to help you with that...”

At this, Adrien visibly swallowed and tried to gently turn her down.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m in the middle of a conversation here. I can point out some other gentlemen who might be interested--”

Chloé shook her head impatiently, her voice showing an irritability Ladybug was well acquainted with.

“Of course not! I’ve danced with everyone else, and all I’ve wanted all night is one dance with you! Would it be too much to ask?”

He said something else placating, but Ladybug wasn’t listening. She was too busy staring at the blonde’s face.

Or rather, her ears, on which were flashes of red. 

She interrupted quickly.

“Excuse me, but those earrings… where did you get them?”

Chloé looked unsurprised at the fact that she had just been interrupted by another contender for the prince’s attention, but she turned to Ladybug with a look of distaste. She crossed her arms and said shortly

“My mother, not that it’s any of your business.”

Ladybug stepped one foot closer, still staring at the earrings. She knew those gems well.

“That can't be right. Those… Those are mine. They were sold by mistake and I’ve been trying to get them back.”

Chloé’s eyes blazed as she put her hands protectively over her earlobes, saying defensively

“Well, you can’t have them, they’re mine now!”

Ladybug knew she shouldn’t. She knew she would regret it dearly. But something about her mask made her forget herself. She couldn’t even make her brain register the possible and even immediate danger as she stepped forward once more and said fiercely

“Give me those earrings. They’re mine.”

“No they’re not! You can’t just take them! If they were sold on accident, then that’s your own fault!”

Ladybug could sense the eyes of everyone around her pointed right at their little scene, but she didn’t care. Chloé’s eyes narrowed as the older girl took one last stepforward and said in a voice tightly controlled,

“I’m giving you one last chance, Chloé Bourgeois. Give me back my mother’s earrings.”

The blonde took a step forward herself as she said, in a voice of triumph,

“HA! How do you explain how you know my name? I never said it!”

Ladybug opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly looked around and saw the expressions on the faces around her. Mostly shock, mixed with condemnation and even a twinge of fear here and there. Then she finally glanced at Adrien, who was looking right at her with an expression of bewilderment. She felt panic seize her once again and she turned back to her sister, forcing herself to speak.

“I…”

Before she could get any farther, a noise caught her attention. It was the sound of a bell. 

Tolling the hour. 

Midnight

She didn’t know why, but she looked back at Adrien. He was still staring at her as if he was trying to believe his eyes. 

  
  



	28. Chapter 28

She didn’t waste another moment. 

She turned and pushed her way past Nino and Alya, running right for the stairs and the exit. She heard shouts from behind her, someone calling a name she couldn’t quite place, and footsteps following her. She ran up the stairs, unaffected by them thanks to her frequent attic bedroom climb, and noted that she had gained a bit of ground because of it. She didn’t know who was chasing her or why, but both reason and instinct were telling her one thing.

_ “RUN.” _

So run she did. Past the guards and guests, through the marble-tiled atrium and out the main doors. Then she stopped short for a moment as she realized it was now really and truly raining, remembering Tikki’s warning about her glass shoes. But before she could really make a decision, she heard footsteps and a shout from behind her and knew she didn’t have any choice. Looking frantically over her shoulder, she ran out into the driving rain, clutching the long skirt of her gown to keep herself from tripping over it. The only noise she could hear over the rain were her shoes clacking on the stone steps, each step causing more and more rainwater to enter the shoes, rendering them slick and unstable. 

She had almost reached the bottom of the stairs when her right heel slipped out of the shoe entirely, causing her to trip and fall with a cry to the bottom of the stairs, her right shoe flying off and landing behind her. She scrambled to her feet and pulled off her other shoe, going to grab the first, only to freeze. 

Through the sheets of rain, she saw Adrien running down the stairs after her, calling out something she couldn’t hear over the crash of thunder. Their eyes met as he came a few steps closer, then she turned and ran right through the courtyard, bare feet now slapping on the stone as she reached the gate and the top of the stairs. She ran down it, more sure of her footing now thanks to the lack of shoes, and she looked around desperately for Ivan’s carriage, the smiles of the two gentle friends she’d made.

They weren’t there. There were, in fact, no faces anywhere. She ran down to their accustomed spot, but nowhere was the little carriage to be found.

Marinette turned back once more to glance over her shoulder and saw Adrien at the gate, her other shoe now in his hand, rain plastering his blond hair to his head as he shouted something else she couldn’t hear. She saw the guards who had ignored her departure closing in on him as he came a few steps down, but she didn’t waste another second, instead turning and running blindly toward the bridge, hoping she could outrun him or at least find a place to hide until he passed her. 

She didn’t know why he was following her or what had happened to make him look at her the way he was, but she wasn’t about to stay and find out. 

Marinette had gone several streets and had turned three corners, passing the few last members of the crowds from the city festival - “ _ of course they would have ended early thanks to the rain” _ \- before she looked back and realized she had lost her pursuer. She wanted to stop, to catch her breath, to stop and assess  _ what had just happened _ , but she just kept running. Her body wasn’t responding to her brain - the only thing that might have stopped her was a brick wall.

Or another person. 

She was still looking over her shoulder when she ran headlong into a form and fell to the ground with a small squeak, still inaudible over the rain - why was rain always so terribly inconvenient?

She was trying to get to her feet, but her gown was now thoroughly soaked and weighed about twice as much as usual, making getting to her feet impossible. She was trying to go as quickly as possible, muttering an apology to the figure, when she saw a hand being held out to her. She shook her head as she looked up at him, then gasped and instinctively moved backwards. 

The figure blinked for a moment, then squinted through the rain. 

“Marinette?”

Marinette gulped and shook her head as she finally managed to get up, trying to be convincing as she stammered loudly

“I… no, no, I’m not, I don’t know who you’re talking about--”

Nathaniel gave a sad smile and spoke loudly over the falling rain.

“There’s only one girl who has any reason to react like that to me. What happened? What’s wrong?”

Marinette glanced nervously over her shoulder, half expecting to see the blond prince running at her, then she gasped once more and looked around frantically.

“My shoe!”

It was lying on the cobblestones a few feet away, and Marinette was shocked to see that it was all in one piece even after its fall. Nathaniel quickly bent and picked it up, examining it for a moment before she snatched it from him and began to run again, her pace slowed now due to fatigue. He ran after her, keeping pace as he said desperately

“Listen, Marinette, I am so sorry about last week. I don’t know what came over me, I’d had too much to drink - that’s no excuse, I am so, so sorry, I don’t know how to make it up to you - Hey, why are you running so fast?”

“I have to get home!” she said, neither mincing matters nor wanting to prolong the conversation. He kept running with her as he asked quickly

“Why? Are you going to tell me that the beautiful Ladybug girl everyone’s been talking about is trying to beat her family home to hide that she’s ever been here? Why on earth would you ever…” 

He trailed off as she kept running, then he caught up to her, saying frantically

“Marinette, what is going on at that house? Why did you have to sneak out instead of going with the rest of them? Why were you running away last week? Please, I know you don’t trust me, and I can’t give you a reason to, but can you at least tell me who you’re running from?”

Marinette was tired, she was frightened, and she was emotionally drained to the point of breakdown. In the past week and a half, her life had been turned upside down forever, and she didn’t know how to handle it. She had been accosted and was now running at the side of her accoster. She couldn’t outrun him, she couldn’t make him leave her, and she couldn’t tell him the truth. But she could give him a little bit, just enough to satisfy him.

“Yes, I’m Ladybug,” she panted, “and I’m running from Chloé!”

Nathaniel gently touched her arm to stop her from moving, but she just flinched away and kept moving. He kept pace with her, obviously tiring at this point - why wouldn’t he just leave her alone? - but still determined. He said between his own labored breathing

“Marinette, hang on! You’re afraid your family’s going to find out, look around! It’s raining too hard for anyone to be out driving? Either they left before it started or they’ll wait it out, they won’t be going now. It’s literally impossible - look at the size of the puddles here, one wrong step for the horse and they’ll be over in no time. Take a second to breathe, won’t you?”

Marinette shook her head, but stopped and dropped to one knee, allowing herself to take in air for just a moment, never once allowing Nathaniel out of her line of sight. He, too, was almost doubled over with effort, panting heavily. Catching her eye, he let out a little grin and said

“I’ve gotta say, that’s some impressive running - and you’re in a dress, too. Seriously, how much does that weigh?”

She didn’t respond, just adjusting her hold on the shoe in one hand and her skirt in the other before straightening and beginning again, her pace slowed slightly to a fast walk instead of a run. Once again, Nathaniel jogged up to her to keep pace, making his way slightly in front of her and turning so he was facing her, walking backwards. 

“Listen, Marinette… I know you don’t trust me, and I get that. I can never apologize enough for that night, and I know that. But you really look like you could use someone to help you - you don’t have to talk to me, you can scream if I even get near you, but please, can I just stay with you? I want to help you.”

Marinette looked him up and down, then weighed her options.

Was she more scared of him or of Lila’s potential wrath?

That turned out to be an easy decision. She nodded and he breathed a sigh of relief, smiling nervously at her as he fell into step beside her - easily an arm’s length away. They walked briskly through the rain and over the bridge, neither of them looking at the other as they did so. In fact, they were both silent throughout. 

And thank goodness for their silence, for without it they never would have heard the rumble of wheels behind them.

They both turned at the sound, and Nathaniel pushed Marinette toward the entrance of the path, only a few hundred feet ahead of them.

“Go! I’ll hold them off.” 

Marinette didn’t hesitate for a moment, bursting into a run and turning down the path just as two horses came over the crest of the hill. She didn’t wait to see what Nathaniel was going to do - if he didn’t succeed, she had less than five minutes to get back to the house and erase any trace of Ladybug. No time to stop at Tikki’s - she thanked her lucky stars that she had changed at her own home instead of the small cottage. She kept running, the rain shielded by the overgrown trees, but almost no light coming through, causing her to stumble and almost fall headlong into the mud. Her heart was hammering, her chest heaving, she knew that it was all futile anyway and that no matter what, Lila would know something was up when Marinette showed herself with dry clothes and soaked hair. 

She reached the end of the path and ran full tilt toward the kitchen door, wrenching it open and slamming it behind her. 

Then turned around. The glass shoe dropped with a clatter and Marinette let out a scream quickly stifled by a hand over her mouth.

“This will all go so much more smoothly if you just sit down and do exactly as I say, like the good little girl your father always thought you were.” Lila purred in her ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Mwa ha ha.   
> Sorry for the cliffhanger, I promise I will get the next installment out on Sunday and won't make you wait too long. Unfortunately, if I were to post the next chapter, I would have to post the chapter after that, and that would mean four chapters in a week, which means fewer weeks I'm posting this altogether, and I'm already freaking out about what I'm going to do once this is all over!   
> Anyway. Rant over.   
> I know, it's mean. But there will be two more chapters next week, don't you worry.   
> As always, thank you for all the support and the comments you send my way, and thank you to everyone who has read this from the beginning, who came in later, or who just found it last week! I love you all, you're the reason I keep coming back week after week to deliver the story.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Once again, this chapter contains a trigger warning for domestic violence and this time, explicit abuse. As I said in previous chapters, I have tried to address this as tactfully as possible while not downplaying the reality of these situations. Unfortunately, there is no good way to avoid the relevant scenarios since there are important plot elements that are explained in this chapter. However, if you feel uncomfortable with the actual reading of the material, please contact me and I will be happy to provide a synopsis in a more concise manner. 

Marinette felt nothing. She was past fear, she was past terror. She just felt her own body moving of it’s own free will as Lila held her eyes. She felt her legs carry her to the wooden kitchen chair. She knew she was letting Lila see every emotion on her face, but she couldn’t do a thing about it. Every memory she had suppressed of Lila’s abuse - her jabs, her slaps, her shrieks and screams, every one of them came back to her in unspeakable clarity as she watched the expression on her stepmother’s face. 

Had she taken that long to run? Had her stepmother somehow not gone to the festival at all? She could have sworn it couldn’t be possible for her stepmother to be waiting for her like this had she been in the carriage Nathaniel had tried to stall. But none of these questions had an answer, and they did nothing more than flash through her head as she looked back at Lila, terrified blue eyes meeting heartless olive green. Then Marinette looked away quickly, trying to hide a shudder as her stepmother laughed cruelly and walked away from her across the room. 

“I thought so. You’re just like your father, too weak to fight back.”

These words hurt like a slap across the face, and Marinette jerked her head up, her own terror fading slightly, to be replaced with anger.

“How dare you!” she said, barely more than a whisper. “How dare you say something like that about him?!”

“I can say whatever I want about him, darling. He’s dead.” Lila said, slipping back into her sickly sweet tone before allowing her venom to break through again in full force. “And you. I hope you enjoyed your little trip to the castle, because it’s the last time you’ll ever leave this house again.”

She moved forward menacingly, and Marinette knew she had nowhere to go. She was trapped just like every other time. Except, she knew instinctively, this wasn’t like every other time. 

Lila just kept walking toward her stepdaugher, anger in her eyes.

“Tell me. Did you enjoy it? Did you enjoy destroying my plans yet again? What a triumph for you, after all. The mysterious Ladybug, everyone just adored her - even the prince himself. All those years of work to get close to the royal family, all the connections I made, I even got a personal introduction to the king himself. All trashed by an ugly girl in a costume who decided to step above herself and get away with it.”

Lila reached Marinette’s chair and placed one hand on the back, leaning in threateningly.

“I hope you understand that your little stunt doesn’t change anything. In fact, with a few conversations I could have Ladybug labeled as a dangerous lunatic, or even an assassin bent on killing the crown prince. After all, people believe what they want to believe.”

Marinette finally spoke up.

“They won’t believe you. The prince won’t believe you.”

“The prince?” Lila laughed sharply. “You think the prince is going to be the one to clear your name? Please. If anything, his testimony will just make it all sound worse. After all, you’re the girl who turned his head so much that he pushed every other girl away, even his own fiance. Not that it would have mattered if the girl who caught his eye had been a nobleman’s daughter, but… Did you really think he’d care about a servant girl? Did you think anyone would care?” 

Lila grabbed Marinette’s chin with one hand and forced it up.

“Did you think that nighttime visitor of yours would care?”

Marinette hadn’t known her panic and terror could increase, but these words made every nerve in her body feel like it was on fire. It was several moments before she realized she hadn’t breathed, that her stepmother was still watching her, a cruel laugh in her eyes

“How… how did you?”

Lila stepped back and laughed mirthlessly.

“You really think I didn’t know? What kind of an idiot do you take me for? I have to say, I took great pleasure in destroying any chance you had with him. It was such a sweet note he left, too… and that gift he left for his “princess”, quite something. How on earth did you manage to snare two different high-class boys with that fake humility of yours?”

The pit of her stomach was falling, but Marinette forced her voice to remain even as she said quietly

“What are you talking about?”

Lila just looked at her with a mix of condescension and derisive amusement. 

“Oh, this is too good. You really thought he just left you! That’s so naive. Darling, no man will just give up on a woman, no matter how much you may want him to. That boy was so desperate to impress you and make up for whatever that shouting was about that he found and bought back those earrings you risked so much for last week. I hope you enjoyed that little surprise, by the way. Chloé was utterly delighted to wear your earrings, and I’m assuming she did manage to catch your eye with them?”

Marinette nodded mutely, knowing her stepmother wouldn’t take no for an answer. Lila’s insincere smile just broadened. 

“That, along with that stupid love note. He left a sickeningly saccharine apology note for you, practically begging you to take him back. And now he’ll never know why it was that he lost you.”

“W-what did it say?”

Marinette couldn’t look at her stepmother, but she knew from her tone that Lila was enjoying this moment, gloating at her stepdaughter’s obvious emotion.

“Oh, just the usual. He was so sorry to have upset you so much, and he was leaving a gift for you, and if you loved him at all or even wanted to see him again, you’d use it.”

“The earrings.” Marinette breathed, and Lila’s laugh was cold and hard. 

“I know how much those earrings are worth. No country bumpkin would be able to afford anything like them. Now I want you to tell me something.”

Lila once more put one hand on the back of Marinette’s chair, the other resting on her chin. Once more they stared into each other’s eyes.

“Who is he?”

Marinette blinked. This question wasn’t at all what she’d expected, but she quickly realized the ramifications of Lila’s question.

“Why do you care?” she said, trying to sound brave despite her thundering pulse and quickly encroaching spot in her vision. Lila just glared harder at her.

“I don’t think it’s any of your business. Now tell me who he is.”

“I don’t know!”

Lila slapped her across the face and stepped back, eyes blazing again.

“I would have thought you’d learn to do this the easy way. Let me put it this way. There are two options, and it all really depends on you. You can either tell me his name and I’ll be able to take care of my own business with him quietly and privately, without any fuss, or you can refuse. But if you refuse to tell me, I’ll have to go to the authorities and report that a strange man has broken into our house several times. And since I don’t have a description of him, they would have to get one from the only other person who saw him.”

Marinette was finding it harder and harder to swallow as her stepmother looked steadily at her, sweet venom in her voice.

“So really, it’s your choice. Tell me, or tell the authorities. And I recommend you choose quickly.”

“You can’t make me do anything!”

She knew as soon as the words left her mouth that it was the wrong thing to say. Lila froze, then a smile came over her face. 

The kind of smile that made Marinette’s entire frame seize up with fear.

“I don’t think you quite understand this situation. Just because you seem to be the one person who doesn’t follow the rules of the game doesn’t mean you’re not playing it. You don’t have a choice. Because the more you fight against me, the more you’re going to suffer. It’s really quite simple. Just do as I say. I don’t care if you believe me or not, because it doesn’t matter. You can take all the time you need to realize that, because there’s no getting away from it. All that matters is that I have total control. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Marinette felt her eyes glued to those of her stepmother. She felt, but she didn’t physically do. Her mind had begun its slip into the subconscious, and only Lila’s laugh brought her back.

“I can’t believe you were so naive! Why on earth would you bring this back to me instead of returning it to the shop you obviously must have robbed?”

Marinette returned to earth and saw that Lila had moved away from her and was stooping to pick up the shoe still lying at the door, holding it up to examine. It glittered in the dim light of the lamp, and Marinette could almost see the plan in her stepmother’s mind half a second before she saw her grasp it by the heel and smash it into the doorpost. 

It didn’t break. Lila looked at it in disbelief before smashing it once more. Still it did no more than clink against the old wood, and Lila snarled as she threw it down on the ground as hard as she could. It just skittered across the floor toward the fireplace Marinette lunged for it, only to scream out in pain as the furious older woman grabbed onto her hair and threw her onto the floor. Marinette could only watch as her stepmother picked up the precious shoe and stood up, towering over her menacingly.

“I may not be able to break this, but I’ll sure as hell break you.” she spat, before kicking out at Marinette, who shielded her head with her arm. The blow landed directly on her ribs, and Marinette clutched at the spot, crying out in pain and terrified that more would follow. But instead, she just heard the sound of derisive laughter and footsteps fading away down the hall. 

  
  



	30. Chapter 30

She lay there on the kitchen floor, taking in both her physical and emotional pain.

Her ribs ached where Lila had landed her blow and probably would for some time, as would her scalp. 

Her hands and knees were scraped from her tumble down the palace stairs.

She knew her beautiful gown, the last gift of her mother, was now not only soaked and covered in mud, but torn as well from her falls to the ground. 

It was taking every ounce of her self-control not to break down into tears then and there, but she didn’t know if Lila was just waiting for that show of weakness to strike again. 

She gingerly got up as she heard noise, holding her ribs carefully. The sound of the rain had lessened dramatically during the confrontation, and now she could hear loud voices from the front hall. Sabrina’s high pitched soprano and Chloé’s mezzo voices blended together in a chorus of contemptuous conversation, with only the slightest bit of Lila’s tone as she listened to her daughter’s complaints.

Marinette heard only snatches of it, but it was enough to confirm Lila’s assurance.

“--what she was thinking? I mean, she practically attacked me for these stupid things, and then ran away!”

“You were right, mother - she was just a commoner trying to fool people into believing her story. I can’t believe no one else noticed it!”

“What story? She didn't even tell anyone anything. No one knows anything about her, real or not. All that attention she was getting is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

Marinette knew that bells would be ringing for her soon, and was suddenly painfully aware that she was, in fact, still Ladybug in appearance. She looked around for her things, remembering that this had been the room in which she’d changed earlier in the day - was it really only a few hours ago? She looked around in yet another wave of panic, seeing no folded skirt and blouse in sight. She swallowed hard and turned to run up the stairs, only to drop to her knees again, clutching her side. Lila’s blow had caused more injury than she realized, and her long flight away from the palace had caused both her legs and her bare feet to feel incapable of taking another step.

But she had to. 

In the course of a split second, she had made up her mind. In fact, her mind had been made up for several hours, but for the first time she had the determination to do something about it. 

She had been hurt in this house for too long. She might not be able to hurt her stepfamily back, but she would certainly make it so she herself would be out of their reach. 

She knew her stepmother. If she had set her mind on breaking Marinette, on getting information out of her, no amount of subservience would be enough. And Marinette knew her stepmother - no matter how compliant she might act, wouldn’t let go of her determination to discover exactly what she wanted to know. And in this moment, she wanted to know more about Chat Noir. That was the tool she would use to break her stepdaughter. 

And Marinette would do anything to prevent it.

She mustered up all the strength she could and rose to her feet again, making for the stairway as quickly as she could without losing her footing. She clutched at the banister as she walked up the stairs, painfully aware of the passage of time, the work she should be doing. Was Lila down there telling the girls about her discovery even now? 

She realized, with a certain feeling of calm, that while she couldn’t truthfully say she didn’t care, she knew it didn’t matter anymore. 

She reached the attic door and opened it gingerly, the tiniest bit of her disappointed to find the room empty, the rest of her too focused on trying to hide all evidence of her Ladybug persona as quickly as possible. 

She tried not to look at the gown as she laid it across the bed, never minding the mud and grime being smeared across the threadbare quilt, but she saw it anyway. The skirt was still soaked and caked with mud, and the sleeves were frayed from her several falls throughout the evening. The waistline had been ripped by Lila’s hurling her onto the floor, and Marinette was shocked to find that Lila hadn’t noticed the thin silver chain around her neck holding the ruby pendant in place. She realized with a thrill of emotion that the pendant itself had managed to slip around her neck and now hung down her back, hidden by her dark hair. She was amazed that it hadn’t been caught in Lila’s hands as she had thrown her stepdaughter to the ground in the kitchen. 

Marinette took it off with her trembling hands and tried to ignore the pain in her feet as she slipped them once more into her flat shoes, quickly donning the blouse and skirt Tikki must have set on the dresser. She had no sooner finished than she realized… no bells had been rung. 

This immediately set her on edge, and she walked as quickly and quietly as she dared toward her stepfamily’s bedrooms. 

She paused as she reached the long hallway, wondering who would be least terrifying to bother, Chloé or Sabrina. 

Chloé had asked for her trust, but had just as quickly lost it by wearing the earrings that night, not to mention she had enough clues to put the pieces together and match Ladybug with her mild-mannered stepsister.

Sabrina now seemed to be totally under the influence of Lila’s misrepresentation, and was turning out to be just as capricious and hard to please as her sister ever had been.

Marinette just stood in the hall, waiting for a sound to reach her ears. A ring, a shout, even the sound of something being knocked over. Anything to tell her that her stepfamily was, in fact, still there, that she wasn’t going completely insane after her trials. 

No sound came from behind any of the three doors. Marinette crept as near to Sabrina’s door as she dared, willing a sound to come to her, but still nothing. 

Chloé’s door, across the hall, was if possible even more silent. 

Marinette reached the corner around which Lila’s room was located, but couldn’t bring herself to move any closer. She just stood there, listening for a moment, willing a sound to reach her.

And reach her it did. A series of  _ clink-clink, clink _ , almost like the sound of a blacksmith’s shop, except each sound was accompanied by a thump of different sound and depth. 

It was the sound of glass on every article of furniture in the room in turn.

Marinette turned and ran, knowing even without seeing it that her stepmother was still angrily trying to break the glass shoe.

Past her stepsisters’ doors, down the hall once more and then back up to her own room. She then slowed to a walk to save her aching feet and ribs, going as quickly as she dared without making a noise or injuring herself more. She felt her rib creaking as she climbed the last few stairs, but she knew she didn’t have much time. 

She had grabbed a large satchel as she passed the kitchen, and she instantly opened up her dresser drawers and began to stuff her few extra articles of clothing into the bag, along with the ruby necklace she had set on top of the dresser. She opened every drawer, knowing full well what she would find in them, until she got to the top drawer. As she reached for it, she knew once more what she would find, but it took a moment before she opened it and pulled out the red rose wrapped in a white cloth. 

She shouldn’t. She shouldn’t take it with her. She knew she only had the ability to carry the essentials with her, but she still found herself slipping the rose into the bag, gently setting it in the folds of her second skirt. Then she straightened and looked around, trying to decide what else to bring with her. 

She wished, oh how she wished she could take everything she wanted. But she was tied to a single satchel, and she only had room for a small parcel of sewing equipment and a spare candle and flint. Marinette also carefully folded the beautiful gown still sitting on her bed, wrapping it so that the muddy skirt would all be in one place and she could carry it without soiling her own white blouse or black corset. 

Then she turned and pulled two small pieces of parchment out of her sewing box, along with a small quill and a tiny pot of ink, tightly sealed for safety. 

On those two pieces of parchment, she quickly penned messages. She folded them up, setting one on the dresser and the other in her apron pocket. Then she looked down at herself and took off her apron, dropping it on the floor, setting the other note in the satchel and picking up the beautiful soiled gown. 

Without another look, she left the room and closed the door silently. 

Sneaking down to the kitchen, she left her things hidden a few steps above as she checked that it was deserted, then she fetched them and set them on the tables as she flitted around the room. Grabbing a leftover piece of bread, a few apples and a tin cup, she set them all in the satchel, then grabbed a dark grey cloak from a hook by the door. She slung the bag gently over her chest, careful not to let the weight settle over her bruised rib, wrapped the cloak around herself and pulled the hood over her dark hair before picking up the gown from the table. And then, once more without a glance behind her, she opened the kitchen door and stepped out into the night. 

She stayed as close to the house as she could until she was out of sight of Lila’s window, and even that wing of the house. She knew her cloak would shield her from most sight, but she wasn’t taking any chances. The rain had mostly stopped by now, with just the slightest mist still left, and all that was left was the silence that comes only after rainfall. The silence that sounds like nothing could ever penetrate it again. Marinette’s breathing alone sounded abnormally loud, and she was sure her footsteps could be heard by anyone who might be listening. 

But no one was. The night was silent, punctuated only by the gentle  _ drip-drip _ of raindrops rolling off of trees, grass, leaves and rocks. The ground was still wet, and Marinette’s shoes were quickly soaked through, but she kept going, knowing now that she could walk barefoot if she needed. 

She had to double back to get to the forest path, but she was quite sure of her destinations. She walked down the path as silently as she could, moonlight occasionally peeping out from being the rolling clouds and illuminating her pathway slightly even through the trees. She felt a sense of melancholy tiredness as she walked, knowing she’d never walk this path again, and feeling oddly saddened by it.

Her breath was coming in gasps and her rib aching more pronouncedly by the time she turned into the glade and saw the familiar pair of stones, the rosebush now fully blooming between them. Marinette walked toward them, breathing deeply and blinking back tears as she gently reached into the bag at her side and pulled out the roll of white cloth, unwrapped it and looked at the flower within. She reached for the rosebush between the headstones, still dripping with raindrops, and grasped the stem of the rose closest to her, gently bending it until it broke off. She set the second rose with the first and wrapped them up, tucking them back into the bag. Then she stood there, looking at the stones and the rosebush, wishing with all her heart her life could have been different. She allowed her tears to run down her face now, not great sobs of emotion like the last time she had come here, but rather almost a lack of emotion. As if she were saddened by the lack of sadness she felt at leaving her home.

After a few minutes, she took a deep breath and spoke two words before turning away, knowing it would probably be forever.

“I’m sorry.”

She walked away from her parents without another glance. In contrast to leaving her home, this lack of backwards looks was rather because she knew that if she did look back, she might never leave.

She followed the path once more, coming out in the larger clearing with the tiny cottage. She was half afraid her old nurse might still be awake, but the lights in the house were all extinguished, and as Marinette moved closer, there once more wasn’t a sound from within. Marinette crept as close as she dared and felt around in front of the door for a spot of ground that seemed to be less soggy than the rest of it, but had to settle for a small rock a few feet away from the house. Then she reached into her satchel and pulled out the second note, all the while fretting that Tikki would wake up and look out the window. 

She set the once-beautiful gown on the stone, trying to avoid the spread of the mud, and set the parchment in its folds, placing it in such a way that it wouldn’t blow away in the wind or be soaked through by the misty rain. 

This time, she did look back at the little house. This house had fewer memories for her, fewer times of either happiness or sadness. It was rather the thought of losing the protection of the woman inside that almost made her choke and lose her resolve. She took one step forward, then froze. 

She couldn’t do it. No one must know where she was going. 

Including her, she realized. While she had instinctively come this far, she had no idea where to go now. 

She knew that Tikki would let her stay, but it would be the first place Lila might look for her if she knew, and she was putting Tikki in enough danger as it was. Not to mention, Tikki would try to keep her from going far.

It was too late to try to find a room at an inn or anything, and it wasn’t as if Marinette had any money with which to do so. 

She had no friends with whom she could stay, either. All of her friends had believed Lila’s lies and were still believing her. She wouldn’t be safe with any of them. And while she had found people who accepted her as Ladybug, not one of them would feel the same about plain old Marinette.

Then, the craziest idea suddenly entered her head. She dismissed it as almost laughable, had it not been so serious, but she couldn’t quite dismiss it completely. 

She couldn’t possibly be thinking of trusting him, could she?

But she thought back to those few minutes when he had been by her side, walking with her in the rain, and she vaguely remembered the look on his face when he saw her again. And then she started walking toward the main road.

Marinette was someone who wanted to believe in second chances, no matter how much her instinct warned her against it. In so many cases, she had been proven wrong time and time again, and she sometimes felt she had lost her ability to trust again after that trust had been broken. But in this case, as she came out of the forest into the gently-sprinkling rain, she felt an odd mix of certainty that she could, in fact, trust him, coupled with an overwhelming realization that she didn’t really have any other choice.

Hoisting her bag more firmly onto her shoulder, she started walking as quietly as she could down the road, away from the city. She hadn’t come this way in quite some time, and she hoped she wasn’t going to get lost within the first hour of running away from home. But she didn’t have any cause for worry. She followed a particular direction until she saw a small house with the light still on, the figure inside silhouetted for her to see. She stopped for a moment, having second thoughts, but before she could do anything, the artist looked up and saw the stranger standing outside his door in the drizzling rain. He quickly opened it and gaped at her for a moment, then his eyes widened with recognition. 

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Marinette smiled sadly.

“I’m so sorry to ask this, but please, could stay with you until it’s light out?”

Nathaniel looked at her, taking in the bag, the cloak and the expression on her face. Then he nodded and opened up the door.

“Come on in.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I didn't post this yesterday, everyone! I don't really have an excuse... :-)  
> Anyway, this concludes the last of the multiple postings - from here on out it'll be the one chapter per week until the end. But that's only, like, six or seven chapters away! I don't know what I'm going to do when I finish this story... Probably write another, if I'm being honest.   
> I wish I could say that I hope you enjoyed this, but in reality I don't think anyone did. I know these chapters are really depressing and upsetting, and I just want to promise again that there will be a happy ending. In any case, I hope you appreciated the content of the chapters, even if it was upsetting.   
> As always, I'll post the next chapter on Sunday - and I'll talk to you all then!


	31. Chapter 31

Adrien paced the floor, knowing Plagg was watching him, judging him for his tumultuous emotions, but not really taking it in. 

Ladybug was Marinette. 

Marinette was Ladybug. 

He’d wanted it to be true - he’d wished for it to be true - and now he was utterly terrified of the ramifications. 

He wished he could have caught up with her before the guards stopped him from leaving the palace courtyard. 

He wished he could have seen the fear in her eyes, those eyes he had recognized correctly, just moments sooner. He wished he could have assured her he wasn’t a threat to her secret.

He also wished, a little bit selfishly, that he could have done something to that stepsister of hers. Maybe spilled punch all over her dress or something equally petty, he didn’t know, but  _ something _ to at least show her what it felt like to be walked all over just because of one’s “lower station”. 

Plagg finally spoke up.

“I’ve got to say, I’m impressed by your call not to go out as Chat Noir tonight. Good choice.”

Adrien just kept pacing.

“Great. Good to know. Now I just have to figure out how to go to her as Adrien instead.”

He whirled around, finally voicing his biggest concern.

“Plagg, do you think she already knows who I am?”

Plagg rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I think she already knows you’re the prince of the kingdom. But to answer your  _ actual _ question… I don’t know. That running act was awfully suspicious, but it could also be that she was afraid of being caught by that sister of hers, right?

Adrien nodded slowly, not convinced as he continued his pacing. 

“But why would she be so worried about being found out by  _ that _ stepsister? She told me she was the sister who had been acting nice… I hope nothing happened because of me or anything.” He stopped, frowning. “But that doesn’t explain why it was that she had the earrings instead of Marinette!”

Plagg looked up at him, trying to search his face, clearly seeing only one thing - his charge was an idiot. 

“Earrings? You were going to try to find her based on  _ earrings _ ?”

Hearing the plan said out loud, it sounded remarkably idiotic to his ears, and Adrien felt himself going a tad pink as he said defensively

“I didn’t really have too many choices, Plagg! She was obviously there at the palace festival, and she obviously would be wearing a mask and disguised well enough that her stepfamily couldn’t see her. Ergo, look for something clearly obvious within her outfit.”

“And why did you think she would wear them?”

This, too, made Adrien pause and realize just how stupid the sentance he was about to say really was.

“I… asked her to. I left her a note with the earrings and asked her to wear them tonight. I’d hoped she might be… I don’t know! I hoped she wasn’t still angry at Chat Noir and might be willing to do it for him, and now that I’ve said it out loud I realize what a conceited idiot that makes me sound like, so no wonder she would rather give the earrings to someone else just to get back at him.” 

He finished this monologue with a dramatic sigh as he flopped down into the second chair, holding his head in his hands and thus missing Plagg’s expression of affectionate derision. 

“Kid, you really do have a talent for going right for the most extreme scenarios. Talk to me here. You left the earrings for her before leaving, right?”

Adrien nodded.

“Did she see you leave them or not?”

Adrien looked up at his tutor, surprised by the question.

“Umm… no, she was already out of the room. I followed her down to make sure she would be okay and wouldn’t pass out again, and then I went back up to her bedroom and left the earrings and note. She was still downstairs at the time.”

“Okay. So we know she was upset about what you were saying to her, something about that conversation hit a nerve and she passed out. Then what? She woke up and just left the room? And then you followed?”

“Err… not exactly.”

Adrien mustered his thoughts and took a deep breath before relating exactly what had happened after Marinette’s faint the night before. Plagg nodded sagely as he listened, eyes hardening as Adrien stammered through the overheard tirate of her stepmother’s, then steepled his fingers after Adrien finished the story. 

“The way I see it, no matter what, we’ve got to get that girl out of her house.” he said seriously. “From what I can tell, that family of hers--”

“Stepfamily.” Adrien interrupted sourly. Plagg glared at him.

“Fine. Stepfamily. At least the stepmother, and possibly the stepsisters as well, are clearly a danger to this girl. So that has to be our first priority, whether Chat Noir is involved directly or not.”

“Obviously, yes, she has to leave that house. But we can get her out of the house using Adrien, right?”

“Right. Sure. Because the girl who was running away from you in terror is just going to be perfectly fine with you waltzing in and doing what? Proposing? Let’s think this through.”

The two of them sat in silence, both racking their brains to find a way to bring about a happy ending for the girl who clearly needed their help. As the clock struck half past one in the morning, Adrien reached out and gently fingered the crystalline shoe on the table, admiring the beauty of it, amazed that it had survived the fall down the stairs and recalling the terror in the owner’s face as she reached for it and saw him coming after her.

He hadn’t intended to scare her. He’d wanted to ask her why she had done it, to gently tell her that he knew her, that he could prove who he was to her. He had, perhaps foolishly, intended to reveal himself when he caught up with her, but he hadn’t made it past the gates to the palace before the guards stepped out to stop him. He had tried so hard to get past them, but they were immovable, and all Adrien could do was watch as the scarlet-clad girl raced away from the palace without a backwards glance, the second shoe still clutched in her hand. 

Adrien straightened suddenly. 

The second shoe. 

“Plagg… Adrien’s not supposed to know Marinette, right? That would be giving away Chat Noir.”

Plagg nodded, eyes narrowing. Adrien continued, getting more and more excited by the moment. 

“What if we played if off as if I really didn’t know who she was? We have her shoe, what if we ask the person who has the match to come and present it? Then we’ll be able to say that I found “Ladybug”, which I did, and no one ever has to know that we met while I was Chat Noir.”

Plagg considered this for a moment, then shook his head. 

“I’m not sure she’d be able to do it. I mean, if her stepfamily is at all suspicious it’ll be much more difficult for her to get out and come to the palace, if she even feels like she’s able to.”

“Why wouldn’t she feel able to?” Adrien said, really puzzled by this. Plagg took a deep breath and looked into the fireplace, still blazing away despite the early hour of the morning.

“In situations like hers, with households like hers, sometimes people can be… broken by it. It wouldn’t surprise me if she were beaten down by it all, and that can sometimes manifest as insecurities and fears. So from what I’ve heard from you, if she’s anything like what I think she might be, she wouldn’t feel capable of going to the palace because… because she wouldn’t feel like she’s worth it.”

These words made Adrien freeze, his mind flashing back to every time Marinette had seemed uncomfortable around him, every time she had drawn back from him. 

Every time, he realized with a quick flash of panic, it had come at a moment when he had tried to help her, to assure her of her own talents, her own worth. The night at the well when he had offered to help her, tried to assure her that she was, in fact, worth the work. Every time he called her “princess” and she seemed to believe she wasn’t worthy of the title. Was even her aversion to physical touch connected to her belief that she wasn’t worth it?

No wonder his shouts, no matter how well-meant, had caused her to pass out. A full-blown panic attack like that… he should have seen the signs.

He felt anger welling up inside him against her stepfamily, and only Plagg’s hand on his arm brought him back to the present. He looked at his tutor with tight lips and Plagg’s eyes turned impish. 

“The good news is, you’re the crown prince. So if you’re looking for the girl who has the match to the shoe, no one could possibly deny you entrance. We do a bit of preliminary questioning, “happen” to find some evidence that Ladybug is in that neighborhood--”

“-- and then we go to the only house with people who could have been at the palace festival! Plagg, you’re a genius!” Adrien finished, eyes bright with hope. Plagg nodded smugly, then sobered. 

“I hope you realized that this might be really, really hard. For you, yes, but especially for her. If her stepfamily decides to pressure her into not showing herself, she might not have the ability to tell them no. If that happens… you might have to push pretty darn hard to get to her. And I want you to remember, she might not be interested in you. So no matter what, the biggest priority is getting her out, even if she doesn’t care about Adrien or Chat Noir. And you have to be ready for that possibility.”

Adrien nodded, also sober, but knowing he couldn’t do anything less. Plagg looked up at the clock. 

“It’s late. You should get some rest. We’ll go in the morning. That’ll give us enough time to have found some kind of information.”

Adrien nodded and stood, then turned back again.

“Who will be coming with us? It would be a little intimidating to show up with a whole group just for one girl, and wouldn’t that be worse all things considered?”

Plagg nodded. 

“You’ll have to be there, obviously, and I’ll be right there with you. But we’d better have another person or two just in case.”

Adrien nodded firmly. 

“Nino. He’ll do it for me, and he already knows a little bit of the situation. I’ll explain as much as I can to him - without mentioning Chat Noir, obviously. I’ll see who else I can find. And I’ll have to talk to my father before I leave tomorrow. I owe him that much. I think he probably suspects something already, but I want to make sure he knows exactly what my plan is.”

“Good plan. Do you think you’ll be able to get it done early enough? We want to get to that house before she has to deal with anything else.”

Adrien nodded and walked out the door, leaving his tutor behind him. Plagg watched him go, a sigh escaping him. 

This was way more complicated than it had to be sometimes, but he knew Adrien well. And when push came to shove, he knew the boy’s sense of justice would kick in, whether Marinette cared about him or not. While it would be unfortunate and would hurt the prince profoundly, Plagg knew that none of this would show in his demeanor toward her until he had gotten her out of that… place.

Plagg may have had his own suspicions about the girl his charge had clearly fallen head over heels for, but they weren’t his own place to say. All he knew was that an innocent girl was clearly in need of rescue, and he was confident that his pupil was more than up to the task. 

The next morning found Adrien standing outside his father’s study as early as he felt was appropriate. He squared his shoulders, then raised his fist and knocked on the mahogany door for the second time in as many days. His heart, which had been pounding since he woke up several hours before, seemed to double in speed as he heard the deep voice from inside bidding him enter. He opened the door and saw his father sitting behind the desk, back turned on the lovely portrait and a paper in his hands which he seemed to be reading and making amendments to. 

“Come in, Adrien.” he said, glancing up and gesturing to the chair. “I assume you have something you’d like to speak to me about?”

Since he only ever came to his father’s study when there was something urgent, Adrien wasn’t impressed with this deduction, but he refused to show this on his face, instead nodding and sitting down across from the older man, setting the bag he carried on the floor at his feet. However he was shocked when his father, instead of finishing the current work as was his custom, instead set the quill back and turned to him with full and undivided attention. 

“What is it, Adrien?”

Adrien held his hands in his lap and looked down at them for a moment, then raised his eyes to his father’s. 

“I wanted to speak to you about that matter we talked about yesterday?”

King Gabriel nodded but remained silent. Slightly unnerved by this, Adrien continued on, not looking directly at the man in front of him.

“I… I know that it’s my duty to marry for the sake of the crown, and I’ve been giving it quite a bit of thought recently. I did discuss this with Princess Kagami, as I said, and we’ve come to the conclusion that it would be better for both of us if we cemented an alternate alliance and were free to marry differently.”

The king just nodded once more, eyes still on his son. Adrien finally raised his own eyes and looked steadily at his father. 

“You once told me that you knew mother was the one for you from the moment you laid eyes on her. Well… I’ve found someone like that. Someone who understands me without words. We’re not close yet, but… there’s something about her that just draws me to her. So… I’d like to go and find her. I’m not asking to get married tomorrow, or in a week, or even in a month, but I feel very strongly that she’s the one for me. And I’d like to ask her if she feels the same.”

King Gabriel looked at him steadily, but not in the same way he usually did. This wasn’t his stare of ice, nor his angry glare, or even his inscrutable displeasure. This was almost appraising, but in a not-unkind way. Adrien felt his old self-consciousness welling up in him, but remembered Plagg’s words to him last night. He had to get his princess away from her home, whether she accompanied him back or not. He breathed deeply and met his father’s eyes for a moment before looking down at his hands once more. 

The king’s baritone voice was surprisingly mild when he finally spoke again. 

“Do I know her?”

Adrien looked up and nodded.

“Yes, she’s… the girl known as Ladybug. We really connected while she was at the festival, but she left in such a hurry because she seemed to run into someone she knew who would have told everyone who she was. I actually asked around last night and this morning, and I think I know where she’s from - it’s a suburb not far from the city, to the south. I’d like to go and talk to her.”

His father frowned, but not unkindly. Rather, it was as though he was working through a puzzling problem.

“Wasn’t this girl masked? How will you be able to find her without searching every house in the area - and what if you make a mistake?”

Adrien really smiled then and pulled a shoe out of the bag at his feet, setting it on the desk between them. The cut glass sparkled like diamond in the early morning sunshine flooding through the window.

“She lost this in the rain as she left last night. As you can see, it's… it’s completely unmistakable. And she has the other one. I have a few leads, and if I don’t immediately find the girl I’m looking for by sight, I can ask my suspects to produce the match to the shoe as evidence. But I hope that won’t be necessary.”

His father reached for the shoe, then paused and looked at the blond boy. 

“May I?”

Adrien was shocked by this, but he nodded. The king picked up the shoe and examined it closely, fingering the etchings, peering at the design of the heel, inspecting the thickness of the glass itself, and nodding slightly as he did so. Adrien was having second doubts about his father handling the shoe from the moment he nodded, and he was almost about to reach forward and grab it back when the older man nodded again, more decisively this time, and gently set the shoe back on the desk.

“Well, this couldn’t be forged in any way, particularly if you give no warning. I recommend a party of no more than five people, but one of them must be able to protect you. Not one of your usual guards, they’re much too recognizable, but someone more able to command should the situation require it…”

As he trailed off in thought, Adrien’s brain finally caught on to what he was saying. 

“... You’re giving your blessing?”

Cold blue eyes met vivid green, and the king nodded once before standing. 

“I can see that my own attempts to find a match for you have proven unsuccessful, and you… did make a fair point.” he said, walking over to the window and standing in front of it, hands clasped behind his back. “I… I cannot truthfully say that I don’t miss your mother every day. I meant only to spare you from that kind of pain if I could, but I see that you have a different opinion on the matter.”

He turned back to his son, who had risen and picked up the glass shoe from the desk. 

“I have my doubts about this plan, Adrien. I won’t try to hide that. And I’m not entirely convinced you can have formed a real attachment for a girl you met only three times - it seems remarkably unbelievable. However, I am in no position to cast judgement on emotions of that kind coming about so suddenly. Perhaps they have in your case, or perhaps you will find this girl, bring her back to the castle and get to know her after that. At the very least you apparently have interests in common, which I now see that you and Princess Kagami do not, for the most part. So while I can’t say you have my blessing, I can say that you do not have me to contend with on this.”

Adrien was standing there slack-jawed until his father started walking toward him once more. He was stuttering out an answer when he suddenly found himself engulfed in a hug. An awkward hug, but a hug nonetheless. Adrien was almost unable to wrap his head around it before his father was pulling away with a strange kind of smile on his face. 

“Good luck, Adrien. And if I might make the suggestion… I may not need her this morning, so Nathalie is available to accompany you on this. Not as a guard as much as a diplomatic exit from any houses who might try to keep you there against your will. And on that note, I would recommend a bit of caution on your part. If the common folk find out that the crown prince is looking for his future wife by shoe, or by some terrible chance that you mistook her… we would be a laughingstock. I would ask that you remember your station, Adrien.”

“I will, father.” Adrien said with a straight face. “And I’m quite sure I can guarantee you. I won’t make a mistake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovely readers! I know I didn't post last week - I was affected by the Texas ice storms and everything surrounding that, and by the time it had all blown over this chapter was *so* low on my priority list. However, we're now back on track and I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though it was a week late.   
> And on that note - while I don't condone a redemption arc for Gabriel in the show, I think he's too far gone at this point, I am very pleased with his turnaround in this chapter. If anyone wants to discuss this with me, I'd love to, but it's not the point of this note.   
> As of now, we're about four or five chapters from the end of the story, depending on whether I combine two shorter ones. I'd be willing to take suggestions - should I combine two chapters into one, or keep them separate? I'll definitely consider the opinions of my readers.   
> Assuming there aren't any more acts of God with my power or anything, we should be on track for one chapter per week until the end of the story. I hope you're all staying safe, and I'll see you all next week!


	32. Chapter 32

Adrien walked out of his father’s office and almost immediately ran into Plagg and Nathalie, both of whom were standing just around the corner. Plagg grinned at him, and Nathalie asked in a voice of mild interest,

“I hope everything went well? He agreed to let you search for her?”

Adrien nodded, then realized what she’d said. 

“Wait, what? How did you--”

“Your father doesn’t pay me to keep my eyes closed, Adrien. I assume, from your face, that he’s not going to refuse to let you go?”

Adrien knew he shouldn’t be shocked by these kinds of revelations anymore, but he still found himself stuttering a bit.

“I… er, I mean, no, he’s - he’s not going to refuse. And he wants you to come with me to keep me safe, actually. He probably wants to see you to explain it all.” 

Nathalie nodded and began to walk toward the door, saying as she did so,

“I’ll be as quick as I can. I assume you’d like to leave as soon as possible?”

Adrien nodded dumbly and she walked toward the door and entered with only a preliminary knock. The prince turned back to his tutor, expression one of utter confusion.

“Does everyone in the palace know about this?”

Plagg’s eyes had mischief in them as he responded

“There might be a couple of scullery maids who don’t, but I wouldn’t count on it - cooks are notorious gossips.” 

“Plagg! This is serious!”

Plagg nodded, but grinned at him. 

“Actually, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean, if everyone is seeing the prince going after the girl who caught his heart, they’re never even going to consider any other alternatives… if you catch my meaning.”

“Your subtlety is overwhelming.” Adrien said sarcastically as they walked down the hall and toward the stables. As they went, Adrien heard a voice calling his name and looked up to see Nino running toward him. 

“When are we supposed to be leaving, anyway? I’ve been ready for almost twenty minutes now and nothing!”

“I had to talk to my father. We’re just waiting for Nathalie.” Adrien said with a grin. Nino whistled. 

“That’s harsh. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not, actually.” Adrien said, surprised at the feeling. “She may be strict, but she’s really a good sport, and she’ll be there to get us out of any awkward situations. I mean, three bachelors wandering around looking for one specific girl? We’ll be sitting ducks without her.”

They all laughed as they came out into the sunlight and saw three horses being held there. Adrien reached his, a grey mare, and quickly hoisted himself up. Plagg and Nino did the same to their black and chestnut hunters, respectively, and Plagg nudged himself closer to the prince as Nino went to order another horse brought out.

“You seem awfully cheerful right now. You okay?”

Adrien nodded, allowing the mask to slip. 

“Yeah, just nervous. Dunno how this is going to play out, and I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. But it has to be done.”

Plagg clapped him on the shoulder - awkwardly, given the distance and the two horses - and gave his charge a reassuring smile. 

“I’m proud of you. And if it makes you feel any better, I think you have a good chance at ending this happily for everyone.”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m happy at the end of this.” Adrien said simply. “It just matters that she is.” 

Plagg’s smile grew warmer and for once was devoid of any kind of sarcastic undertones.

“And that is the reason I’m so proud. Because you’re putting her happiness before hers, and that’s the mark of real love.”

Adrien smiled his own shy smile as Nathalie came out and joined them on her own dark-brown horse. She looked at Adrien steadily and simply said

“Lead the way, your highness.”

And so the four of them set out. Nino quickly pulled his horse next to his friend and they rode side by side through the streets, making smalltalk about the festival, the people they had met, the plans they should make together. Adrien finally broached the question he’d been meaning to ask the night before - prior to the revelations that had knocked him off his feet. 

“So Nino… How did things go with the girl you found. Alya?”

Nino grinned up at him. 

“Quite well. I actually asked - she’s from the neighborhood we’re heading to. Maybe she even knows the girl you’re looking for!”

“I doubt it.” Adrien said. “You’d think she’d be able to recognize anyone she knew, right? And she didn’t seem to know Ladybug at all.”

Nino hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth and said cautiously

“Look, Adrien, I know how much you want to find this girl. But have you considered what will happen if it’s someone you don’t get along with? Anyone can pretend to be someone else for a couple of hours for a couple of nights, but… what if she’s not who you think she is?”

Adrien smiled softly and allowed his gaze to wander aimlessly.

“Don’t worry. I’m not planning on marrying anyone right away, so it’s not like we won’t have time to get to know each other. And it feels like we’ve already known each other for weeks, too.” 

“Alright. I guess you’ve never been wrong before. Except for that fencing lesson, obviously.”

The two young men laughed, totally unaware that a similar conversation was being held behind them. 

“I hope you won’t take offense if I ask you about the prince’s plan instead of him?” Nathalie said to the tutor beside her. “You’re the one closest to him, so I assume he’s told you exactly what he intends to do?”

Plagg nodded

“He’s going to find the girl who called herself Ladybug. Unfortunately we have reason to believe that she doesn’t have a good home life, and when Adrien realized that, he couldn’t wait another day to remedy the situation. Quite the moral compass, our prince.”

It was now Nathalie’s turn to nod. 

“Indeed. I must say, his father may not be the most devoted of fathers, but he does take great pride in his son’s sense of duty.”

She looked up quizzically as Plagg hastily turned his burst of laughter into a cough, and whatever her own thought might have been, she kept them to herself. Instead, she asked

“How exactly did you obtain your information?”

“We found a few people who had seen her leaving, and we know that she knew someone from the area in question. That’s one of the reasons we suspect an unfortunate home life for her.” Plagg said. He and Adrien had decided to use as much of the truth as they dared, and Plagg had a certain level of trust in Nathalie Sancour. 

The king’s assistant might be strict and straightlaced, and she might be the one who was responsible for bringing much of his charge’s bad news, but it wasn’t fair to shoot the messenger. Not only that, but she had in the past managed to keep Adrien from receiving quite the level of unwanted attention his father felt necessary. Getting him out of parties early, keeping an eye on him at social gatherings and monitoring his necessary social interaction. While she couldn’t do much against the king’s wishes, Plagg had come to the realization in the past that the woman truly did have Adrien’s best interests at heart. He wouldn’t have told her about some of the boy’s more outrageous pranks, but he also didn’t feel like he was betraying his trust by explaining a bit more to her. 

“I see.” the woman beside him said. “And how exactly does he intend to address this issue? I was there last night, and I saw the rather… unfortunate scene in the ballroom. The king asked me to do my own investigation, and I came up with some interesting information myself.”

“Such as?”

“The fact that the crown prince was chasing this girl down the halls of the castle despite her obvious wish to be anywhere but there, for one. I assume that isn’t something that can be kept from the public. If this girl was running from him so frantically, why does he think he will be able to convince her to reveal herself now?”

Plagg weighed this question, and decided it was a bit too close to certain secrets for comfort. 

“Honestly, I don’t entirely know. I’ve tried to discuss it with him, but he seems very determined to find this girl. Perhaps it really is altruistic, after all. If you saw the scene last night, you saw the way the other girl reacted to her as well. Perhaps he simply wishes to make sure this girl is safe.”

Nathalie made a noncommittal noise and looked straight ahead to where the boys were still talking. They clip-clopped over the bridge and Plagg suddenly had a thought. Perhaps it was a thought that should have come to him before, but he quickly moved forward to join the prince on the wider road. 

“So, Adrien… We’re starting at the local inn, right? To figure out who all would have gone to the festival?”

Adrien looked at him sharply and then said, with just the right amount of interest and frenetic energy,

“Right. We’ll start there and see exactly what we can find.”

Their eyes met and they understood each other perfectly. In fact, they had long since developed the ability to have entire basic conversations with nothing but their eyebrows and mild facial expressions. The kind Adrien had to keep while in the middle of stuffy court functions, for example. And in this case, Plagg’s plan was clear: Find “information” about the local families in order to throw off suspicion. 

And so with that in mind, the four rode into the open space before the little inn. Due to its proximity to the city, it wasn’t a large establishment - most people visiting the capitol for the night preferred to stay more central - but it was modest and clean, and there appeared to be quite a crowd in the main bar despite the early hour. 

Plagg hopped down from his stallion and gestured to Nino.

“We’d better go in and see what we can find. Are you alright staying low-profile out here, kid?”

Adrien nodded and watched the two men walk inside. Nathalie sat on her own horse a few feet away, eerily silent. The time dragged on, he considered getting down and pacing but decided against it, and he spent his time trying to avoid the gazes of the people who came and went from the door. When Plagg and Nino finally came out again, another figure was following close behind them. Adrien was mildly surprised to see the face of Alya, the girl his best friend had set his eye on. She caught sight of them and looked nervous at being scrutinized by not only the prince but an austere lady who, he had to admit, looked a bit like a sinister bird of prey from her height upon her horse. 

“I… your highness, it’s an honor - These gentlemen asked me to come out and speak to someone about the area? The families who live here? How can I help you?”

Adrien got down off his horse and offered the girl his hand. To her credit, she didn’t seem in the least starstruck after her first shock at seeing him. She took his hand gingerly in hers, as if she wasn’t sure what to expect, but he just shook it the way he would have any man’s. 

“Thank you so much. I’m actually looking for someone in particular. Do you know some of the more influential families in the area? I’m looking for someone who might have had the money at their disposal to come to the palace festival and the wish to remain hidden from certain people.”

Many people in his life had told Adrien that subtlety wasn’t his strong suit. Alya’s eyes lit up with the expectation of a story, and she said, almost screaming it out,

“You’re looking for--”

A chorus of “ssshhhh!!!”s interrupted her, and she blushed a little, but went on with a slightly moderated voice. 

“You’re looking for Ladybug, aren’t you!! Do you think she’s from around here?”

Adrien nodded, and Plagg stepped forward to explain.

“We got information that she’d been seen in the area and no further, so we’d like to start here before widening our search. And I hope you understand, this is a matter of the utmost secrecy. We don’t want word to get out into the public, or we might have to sift through imposters who think it’s a quick and easy way to the throne.”

Alya nodded, and said quickly

“You said you’re looking for someone who would have had the money to go to the palace festival? Okay, the only family that fits that description is the Rossi family, but we might have to consider that it wasn't a question of money. If the gown was a longtime investment, or even if it was a gift from someone more wealthy - there are a couple of people in the area who have rich relatives.”

They all stared at her as she continued talking, her mind clearly racing at high speeds.

“And we have to consider the description we have for her. She’s not particularly tall, she has dark hair, and we know what her voice sounds like. With all that in mind, there are only a couple of people in the town who fit the description: Julika, Mirelle, and Marinette. Julika’s mother comes from a wealthy family and they sometimes get extra runoffs even though there’s some family drama there, but I’m fairly certain I saw her in her festival dress and it looked different. Mirelle went with her family, and she was in the town center every night, so she’s got an alibi and we can count her out. And the Rossi’s don’t have the money to buy a Marinette a dress like that, but she has the ability to make one herself - not to mention, Chloé looked like she recognized her last night. She might be able to remember something or even give you a name!”

She looked up at the faces staring at her in bewilderment and shrugged.

“What? It’s just basic reasoning.”

Adrien noticed Nino’s expression and wanted to grin at him. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if Alya wasn’t quickly instated at the castle in some position. 

“Thank you.” Nathalie said calmly. “Then we know where to start. Would you mind coming with us to direct us, since you are already aware of our intentions?”

Alya nodded cheerfully and ran into the bar, presumably to explain that she was going out for a while. Adrien looked around at his companions.

“I think we should check the Rossi house first. They seem like the biggest lead. But I’ve heard some things about them, and I met the two daughters - Nathalie, I think it’s probably a good thing you’re with us. We might need you to get us out of there if they decide to press us uncomfortably.”

The woman nodded with the same expression she always held as Alya came running back out the door, her apron now removed to show a pretty brown skirt. She looked around and said apologetically

“I don’t have a horse around today. Err… I can walk, I guess!”

Before she could do anything, Nino held out his hand and said

“Here, take mine.”

Alya smiled up at him and nodded, setting her foot in the stirrup and hopping into the saddle with surprising agility. Nino took the reins and led the horse forward, the rest following behind. The pace was slower now due to Nino being on foot, and Adrien felt his panic starting to seize him. He was so close, they were almost there, and almost every fiber of his being was telling him to turn and run the other direction.

Almost every fiber. But the thought that kept him going, the thoughts that prevented him from turning and galloping away, were of Marinette. Her smile, her laugh, her positivity and attitude. And most of all, her fear. The fear he could see as plain as day in all of their interactions, now that he knew. This was the thought spurring him on to follow Alya’s directions toward the house he had come to know, though had never seen the front of. 

And these thoughts were the only thing that kept him sane as he watched Plagg dismount, walk up to the big front door, and knock decisively on it. 

Adrien more than half expected to see Marinette’s dark head opening the door, but instead it was opened by the little strawberry blonde, Sabrina. She opened it, looked at the group outside, gave a squeak, and shut it again. They heard shouts from inside, and about a minute later, the door opened again to show an older woman with grey-speckled brown hair and a simpering smile standing in front of her daughter. 

“I’m so sorry for keeping you waiting, your highness, gentlemen, Ma’am! Can I help you?”

It was Plagg who spoke, voice carefully neutral. 

“Actually, we believe you could help us quite a bit, Madame Rossi. We’d like to speak to you about a rather private matter.”

Madame Rossi smiled even wider, her eyes glinting as she opened the door and stepped back, saying

“Please, come in.”

Adrien dismounted and looked around, realizing there was no one nearby to hold the horses. Nino stepped up and grabbed his bridle, as well. 

“I’ll take care of them. You’d better go on inside before things go bad. But one shout and I’m letting the horses go and coming running.” he muttered. Adrien clapped him on the shoulder and walked toward the front door with Nathalie, leaving Nino and Alya standing behind them. 

The visitors stepped into a dimly lit and ornately decorated front hall with a large grandfather clock in one corner and numerous small and breakable objects on long tables and towering shelves. Adrien felt his anger rising, knowing that Marinette was responsible for cleaning and preserving all of this, wondering which of these were hers and which were simply brought by the interlopers, but he forced himself to be calm as they followed the mother and daughter into what seemed to be a parlor. 

Large armchairs and even more tchotchkes were scattered around the room, and in the seat closest to the large bay window was the blonde beauty from last night, Chloé. Adrien once more had to push his anger down at the sight of her, sitting there with a book in her hands as if she didn’t have a care in the world. She looked up briefly, then did a double take, her eyes widening at the sight of the group of people. She looked at her mother with what almost seemed like fear.

“Mother, what’s…”

The older woman in front of him made a move that was almost imperceptible and the blonde looked at the group closer, eyes narrowing when they reached him. Adrien drew on all his court training not to glare right back at her. All he could see in this girl was the spoiled brat who had seemed to be kind to his princess only to stab her in the back, and Adrien was, if possible, more determined than ever to get Marinette out of this house.

“Chloé, darling, the prince himself is here to see us!” Madame Rossi was saying, coming farther into the room to her daughter’s side. Chloé nodded and set her book down on the side table, rising to her feet to curtsy. Her mother gestured to the various chairs and sofas around, saying

“Please, sit down.” 

Adrien did so, but Plagg and Nathalie stayed standing, the former by his side with a hand on his charge’s shoulder and the latter by the door, looking for all the world like a sentry on guard. Sabrina looked at the scene in front of her and seated herself as far from the center of attention as she could, while Chloé and Madame Rossi took their seats right in front of Adrien. He cleared his throat, knowing a misstep now would be disastrous. 

“I’d like to talk to you about one of the guests who came to the festival, the one called Ladybug. We have information tracking her to this area, and she seemed to know Miss Rossi here seemed by name. Do you, by any chance, have any idea who she might be? I have something I’d like to return to her.”

Chloé’s eyes were still narrowed, but she smiled at him, almost as if he was playing along with some secret prank of theirs.

“The only thing I know is that she was entranced by the earrings I was wearing last night. You heard her, insisting they were hers and that she’d sold them on accident? Ugh, pu-leese. They were from my mother, and my mother only. Just because she  _ happened _ to have a necklace that  _ happened _ to look like it matched my earrings doesn’t mean anything. And how on earth did she know my name? I mean, it’s not surprising, we are a well known family, but still! I don’t think I’d spoken a word to her before.”

“I see.” Adrien said, seeing an opening and turning to Madame Rossi. “Madame, do you mind telling me where you got those earrings? Perhaps I can trace them back to the original owner?”

Madame Rossi looked a little unnerved, but recovered well. 

“I’m afraid I don’t entirely know. They might have been a gift from my first husband, or they might have been left by my third husband, Monsieur Dupain. He was a well-respected businessman and his first wife enjoyed jewels.”

This was almost too easy. Adrien tried to keep his voice as even as possible.

“Interesting. One more question, if you don’t mind.” He turned to Chloé once more and reached into his bag, pulling out the glass shoe and holding it so that the designs and etching were clearly visible. “By any chance, do you recognize this?”

Chloé’s eyes locked on it, but Adrien was more interested in Madame Rossi’s reaction. She was clearly shocked, since she couldn’t manage to keep the gracious smile plastered on her face. Chloé shook her head.

“I’ve never seen it before in my life. It’s pretty, though. It is hers?”

Sabrina suddenly made a sound, shrinking away as everyone turned to her.

“Mother… didn’t you have something like that upstairs? I… I was trying to knock on your door, and it was a little bit open, and I saw you shove something that looked like that under your mattress…” she caught her mother’s furious eye and shrank back even more, muttering “I guess I was wrong.”

“Of course you were, darling.” Madame Rossi purred menacingly. Adrien smiled at Sabrina consolingly and said

“Thank you very much, Miss Raincomprix. That actually helps me quite a bit.”

Then he turned back to Madame Rossi and prepared to make the final blow.

“If you don’t mind my asking, Madame, are there any other people in the house? Anyone else who could help to elucidate the situation?”

Madame Rossi’s smile had faded momentarily, and now it looked like it was plastered on. To anyone else, it wouldn’t have looked any different. But Adrien knew the difference between a real and fake smile - living at court his whole life had some advantages. 

“Why, no! It’s just me and my girls here.” Madame Rossi was saying, but she clearly understood that she was losing control of the situation. Adrien feigned surprise, saying quickly

“Really? I could have sworn Miss Cesaire mentioned a third daughter. Marinette, wasn’t it?”

He turned to Plagg for confirmation, and he nodded. Madame Rossi’s eyes hardened as she clapped her hands together and said

“Ah! My stepdaughter - I’m afraid she’s very ill right now and can’t come down. She’s a shy little thing, and she’s been working herself to death for this festival - it must have finally all caught up with her.”

“I see. Do you happen to know where she was on the nights of the festival, by any chance? It seems to me that it might be worth speaking to her about this. Perhaps she knows something, perhaps someone came looking for Miss Chloé or something?”

Madame Rossi looked livid by this time. Or, more specifically, she looked as if she would have been livid if her smile hadn’t been etched into her face.

“She was here, of course. As I said, she’s shy and doesn’t like crowds. And not only that, but she happens to have a condition that forces her to sleep early. We try to understand it, but sometimes it’s all just a bit too much for her and she has these episodes…” 

Plagg put a hand on his charge’s shoulder and prevented him from doing anything stupid - just in the nick of time, too. Adrien had been about ready to jump up and either confront Madame Rossi on her lies or go running for the attic bedroom, either of which would have destroyed the whole charade. Every word said, every move made here in this room was part of a game, and Marinette was the prize. There was no room for error here.

They might have stayed there longer, locked in a stalemate of smalltalk and mildly veiled threats, but at that moment a door slammed, there were raised voices from outside, and footsteps were heard running down the hall. Adrien rose and turned, but instead of Marientte, a woman he didn’t recognize slammed the door open. 

She looked to be about the same age as Plagg or Nathalie, her black skirt and red blouse were rumpled under her grey cloak, and her ginger hair was windblown and sticking out in odd angles. She looked absolutely furious as she flung open the door, stormed a few steps into the room and stared right toward Madame Rossi as she said in a dangerous voice

“You! You loathsome, vindictive--”

Then she suddenly seemed to realize that there were more people in the room and she looked around, anger suddenly replaced by astonishment.

“What on earth?”

Then, of all people, her eyes lit on Plagg. 

“Plagg, what are you - oh, no! Don’t tell me?”

Plagg was looking right back at her, mouth open slightly and eyes narrowed. Then he suddenly buried his head in his hands as he said quietly

“Oh, no.”

She ran over to him and grabbed him by the arm, saying frantically

“Plagg, please, I need your help. I lost her! She’s gone!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite chapter ending to date. The suspense, the drama!   
> Also, I'm exhausted and edited this mostly on autopilot, so bear with ya gurl.   
> Thank you all so much for the recommendation to combine chapters - I ended up doing that with this chapter, and I may or may not do it for the next. But in any case, there will be no more than three more chapters after today.   
> Hope you all enjoy, and I hope you're all staying safe and healthy. Know that there his hope for those of us still struggling with covid lockdowns or fear thereof. May your day and week be beautiful and productive, and I'll see you all next time!


End file.
